Exploring image datasets

We will need sample images for our computer vision programs with Python and OpenCV. We can find a lot of images online. However, many of those images are under copyright. Most computer vision researchers and professionals use standard image datasets. We prefer to use the following image datasets all the time:

• http://sipi.usc.edu/database/
• http://www.imageprocessingplace.com/root_files_V3/image_databases.htm
• http://www.cvlab.cs.tsukuba.ac.jp/dataset/tsukubastereo.php

Download these datasets. They will be in compressed zip format. Extract them into the ~/book/dataset directory. From this chapter onward, we will write a lot of programs for computer vision that will require images, and we will use the images from these datasets for all our needs. The other option for images is to use a web camera and RPi camera module to capture images, which we will learn about later in this chapter.