The invention discloses an
image processing method for automatic pointer-type instrument reading recognition. The method comprises the following steps: (1) Hough circle detection is carried out on the image, a
weighted average method is used for positioning the circle center and the
radius of a dial, and a dial region square image is extracted; (2) the image is pre-treated, and a binary
thinning image of the instrument pointer is extracted; (3) a
central projection method is used for determining a pointer angle; (4) a zero graduation line and full graduation line position templates are extracted, and a range starting point and ending point positions are calibrated; (5) by using
template matching, zero graduation line and full graduation line angles are obtained; and (6) according to the pointer angle, the zero graduation line angle and the full graduation line angle, the pointer reading is obtained through calculation. Thus, the problem that the instrument dial position on the acquired image is not fixed as the relative position between a camera and the pointer-type instrument is not fixed can be solved, subjective errors as the reading of the instrument is read manually can be eliminated, the efficiency and the precision can be improved, safety of people is ensured, the application range is wide, and robustness is strong.