IP-LAB: A Tool to Teach Image Processing Programming in Java—Challenge in Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne

Image processing is getting more and more important because of the widespread use of digital imaging devices, such as digital cameras or digital videos. While image processing is a very practical discipline, it is perceived as being rather theoretical. It is actually a subject that involves a rigorous, mathematical treatment. Hence, what is important in image processing education is that instructors make students not only understand such mathematical formulas but also become to be able to use them. To this end, computer laboratories accompanied by lectures are very effective for image processing education. In order to make the best use of them, computer systems which will be used by students play a very important role. IP-Lab is a system in Java that was developed by the second and the third authors of the present paper in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) to offer an environment where the students could implement the algorithms literally as they are seen in the course.