US Patent 9270899 Segmentation approaches for object recognition

An object represented in an image can be segmented from the image background by capturing a pair of images, one with flash and one without, and generating a differential image. This differential image can be analyzed using an algorithm, such as a connected components or computer vision algorithm, to determine one or more portions of the image that correspond to an object. An appropriate one of these objects can be selected as corresponding to the object of interest, and an outline of the selected object can be used to determine a portion of one of the original images that corresponds to the object. This portion then can be provided to an object recognition or other such process for analysis, which can increase the efficiency and accuracy of the analysis.