A fast and efficient method for solving the multiple line detection problem

In this paper, we consider the multiple line detection problem on the basis of a data points set coming from a number of lines not known in advance. A new and efficient method is proposed, which is based upon center-based clustering, and it solves this problem quickly and precisely. The method has been tested on 100 randomly generated data sets. In comparison to the incremental algorithm, the method gives significantly better results. Also, in order to identify a partition with the most appropriate number of clusters, a new index has been proposed for the case of a cluster whose lines are cluster-centers. The index can also be generalized for other geometrical objects.