A content-aware image editing method for perceptual size restoration based on seam carving

A content-aware image editing method for perceptual size restoration based on seam carving | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A content-aware image editing method for perceptual size restoration based on seam carving Zhenyang Zhu, Naohiko Ishikawa, Xiaoyang Mao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6355937/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in The Visual Computer → Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract To alleviate the gap between the perceptual size of Thing of Interest (ToI) in a real scene and its appearance in a photograph, ToI region enlargement methods based on seam carving have been proposed in previous studies. However, state-of-the-art methods may suffer from issues such as a lack of automation and distortion caused by seam concentrations. In this study, we propose an image editing method for ToI enlargement based on seam carving. The proposed method incorporates the Segment Anything Model to automatically generate ToI mask. To address the issue of seam concentrations, a wide-area energy strategy is introduced. Additionally, to improve the image quality of the enlarged ToI region, a super-resolution-based post-processing mechanism is put forward. Subjective experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results suggest that the proposed method effectively enlarges the ToI region while suppressing distortion caused by seam concentrations. Thing of interest Perceptual impression Seam carving Wide area seam energy Automatic mask generation Super resolution Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in The Visual Computer → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 08 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 13 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 02 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 02 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 01 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6355937","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":442958233,"identity":"25dfa544-c3c8-40d2-966e-7852dc5a4f2b","order_by":0,"name":"Zhenyang Zhu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHgaGD1AmM4MBmE4gqIVxBslamHngWogB8v1nj0nbttlF889ufvy5oIBBnr+B4dkDfFoYG86lSee2JefOuHPMTHqGAYPhjAMM6Qb4tDAz9pgBtTDnNtxIMGPmMWBg3MDAkCaBTwsbM4+ZtGVbfe78G+mfPwO12BPUwsMG1MLYdjh3w40cA2mglkSCWiR4eIwte84dz914I6cMqEUiecZhAn6R7z9jeONHWXXuvBvpmz/z/LGx7W/vSXuATwsYMLIhbAWGCE8aQR0MDH9QeOzHiNAyCkbBKBgFIwgAAECSQMScrB46AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Yamanashi","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhenyang","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":442958234,"identity":"aef910a2-1783-4249-ad07-1023f4737e54","order_by":1,"name":"Naohiko Ishikawa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Yamanashi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Naohiko","middleName":"","lastName":"Ishikawa","suffix":""},{"id":442958235,"identity":"3fcd4237-7e3f-4422-8744-c5338269ebdb","order_by":2,"name":"Xiaoyang Mao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Yamanashi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaoyang","middleName":"","lastName":"Mao","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-01 20:53:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6355937/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6355937/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-025-04088-0","type":"published","date":"2025-07-11T15:57:51+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":86699451,"identity":"7e075f89-cca3-445e-be0d-8327a0ab9a7c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-14 16:09:52","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":8213365,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Cyberworlds2024Extended.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6355937/v1_covered_6e35e03c-cbcc-4325-986c-8244298a1245.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A content-aware image editing method for perceptual size restoration based on seam carving","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"the-visual-computer","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"tvcj","sideBox":"Learn more about [The Visual Computer](http://link.springer.com/journal/371)","snPcode":"371","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/371/3","title":"The Visual Computer","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Thing of interest, Perceptual impression, Seam carving, Wide area seam energy, Automatic mask generation, Super resolution","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6355937/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6355937/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"To alleviate the gap between the perceptual size of Thing of Interest (ToI) in a real scene and its appearance in a photograph, ToI region enlargement methods based on seam carving have been proposed in previous studies. 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