Sobel Edge Detection Implementation

In MATLAB, we can implement the Sobel edge detection algorithm using M-files. Sobel edge detection is a fundamental image processing technique that identifies edges within digital images by calculating gradient approximations. The algorithm employs two 3x3 convolution kernels (horizontal and vertical) to compute the gradient magnitude at each pixel location. In the M-file implementation, typical workflow includes: loading the input image using imread() function, converting to grayscale if necessary, applying Sobel operators through convolution operations (using conv2() or imfilter()), calculating gradient magnitude using sqrt(Gx^2 + Gy^2), and finally displaying results with imshow(). This implementation allows for effective edge detection, which is crucial for image analysis tasks such as feature extraction, object recognition, and computer vision applications. The code typically includes thresholding operations to binarize the gradient magnitude for clearer edge visualization.