vigra

Vigra, short for Vision with Generic Algorithms, is a cross-platform open-source C++ library for computer vision and image analysis. It provides a collection of generic, template-based algorithms and data structures designed to work with n-dimensional arrays, enabling code that can handle 2D images as well as higher-dimensional data.

The core data type is the MultiArray, an n-dimensional array used as the standard input and output container for image processing operations. The library offers a broad range of functionality, including filtering and denoising, morphological operations, edge and feature detection, segmentation, and feature extraction. It also includes utilities for building simple machine learning pipelines and for evaluating results. The emphasis is on performance, modularity, and reusability, with algorithms that can be composed and extended for research needs.

Vigra is implemented in C++ with bindings that expose functionality to Python, enabling rapid prototyping and integration with scientific workflows. It is used primarily in academic and research settings for tasks such as image analysis in biomedical imaging, material science, and computer vision experiments, as well as for teaching concepts in image processing.

Development and licensing are governed by an open-source model, with ongoing maintenance by its community of users and contributors. The project aims to provide a robust, extensible foundation for image analysis that complements other libraries in the ecosystem, such as OpenCV and ITK.