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Lenna or Lena is the name given to a standard test image originally cropped from a Playboy magazine centerfold picture of Lena Söderberg, a Swedish model who posed naked for the November 1972 issue. The image is probably the most widely used test image for all sorts of image processing algorithms (such as compression and denoising) and related scientific publications. The anglicised version "Lenna" of Söderberg's name comes from the Playboy article; Playboy changed the original "Lena" so English-speaking readers would pronounce her name correctly.

History

In June or July of 1973 Alexander Sawchuk, at the time assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California Signal and Image Processing Institute (SIPI), stated that he together with a graduate student and the SIPI lab manager were searching the lab for a good image to scan for a colleague's conference paper. They had tired of their stock of usual test images and wanted something "glossy" to ensure a good output of dynamic range, and they wanted a human face. Just then, somebody happened to walk in with a issue of Playboy.

The engineers removed the top third of the centerfold so they could wrap it around the drum of a Muirhead wirephoto scanner, which was outfitted with analog-to-digital converters (one each for the red, green, and blue channels) and a Hewlett Packard 2100 minicomputer. The image scanner had a fixed resolution of 100 lines per inch and the engineers wanted a 512 × 512 image. They limited the scan to the top 5.12 inches of the picture, which resulted in the image being cropped at the subject's shoulders.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

David C. Munson, editor-in-chief, January 1996 IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, cited two reasons for the popularity of the image in research: first, the image contains a nice mixture of detail, flat regions, shading, and texture. This does a good job of testing various image processing algorithms. Second, that a picture of an attractive woman had an effect on the image processing research community which consisted mostly of men.

Lenna is so widely accepted in the image processing community that Söderberg was a guest at the 50th annual Conference of the Society for Imaging Science and Technology in 1997.

Controversy

The use of the image has produced some controversy, with some people concerned about its prurient content. Playboy at one time threatened to prosecute over the unauthorized use of the image, but decided to overlook the widespread distribution of this particular centerfold. The magazine has also stated that the issue was its best-selling ever, having sold 7,161,561 copies. When the IS&T wanted to invite Lena to their meeting,

References

• The comp.compression FAQ
• Gonzalez, Rafael C. Digital Image Processing (2nd ed.). ISBN 0-20-118075-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) — image used numerous times in chapter 6
• http://www.ee.cityu.edu.hk/~lmpo/lenna/Lenna97.html

Notes

1. Jamie Hutchison, "Culture, Communication, and an Information Age Madonna," IEEE Personal Communication Society Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 3, May/June 2001, PDF
2. David C. Munson, Jr., "A Note on Lena," IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Vol. 5, No. 1. Jan. 1996 online
3. Imaging Experts Meet Lenna in Person
4. Playboy - Live and breathe the business retrieved January 14, 2006
5. Janelle Brown, "Playmate Meets Geeks Who Made Her a Net Star ", Wired News, May 20, 1997 online

See also

• Cornell Box
• Utah teapot
• Stanford Bunny
• Suzanne

• Image processing
• Playboy
• Photographs
• 1972 works