Usually the filters for detecting edges have the sum of all the values in the filter matrix equal to 0. For example: [-1 -2 -1, 0 0 0, 1 2 1].
Why is it so ?
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Sign up to join this communityAn edge detection filter is, by definition, a high-pass filter. It is looking for quick changes (i.e. high frequencies), not slow trends. Thus, a good edge detection filter will have a response of 0 at DC. A FIR filter whose taps sum to 0 has a response of 0 at DC.
An edge detection filter computes a derivative. A derivative of a discrete image is approximated by finite differences, i.e. you subtract the left pixel from the right pixel. If your filter did not sum up to 0, then you would be weighing the value of one pixel more than the value of the other, and that would be wrong.