The document provides an introduction to digital image processing. It defines a digital image as a finite set of digital values representing a two-dimensional image. Digital image processing focuses on improving images for human interpretation and processing images for machine perception. The document outlines the history of digital image processing and provides examples of its use in applications such as image enhancement, medical imaging, satellite imagery, and industrial inspection. It also describes common stages in digital image processing like image acquisition, enhancement, restoration, segmentation, and compression.