ABSTRACT
The Fourier Transform is of fundamental importance to image processing. It allows us to perform tasks that would be impossible to perform any other way; its efficiency allows us to perform other tasks more quickly. The Fourier Transform provides, among other things, a powerful alternative to linear spatial filtering; it is more efficient to use the Fourier Transform than a spatial filter for a large filter. The Fourier Transform also allows us to isolate and process particular image “frequencies,” and so perform low pass and high pass filtering with a great degree of precision.
