Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for merging real and synthetic images

US6151009A · kind A · utility

100Cited by
6References
28Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 21, 1996
Grant dateNov 21, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 21, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N5/272
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for merging real and synthetic images in real time is comprised of the steps of providing a first signal containing depth and image information per pixel about a real image. A second signal containing depth and image information per pixel about a synthetic image is provided. The depth information corresponding to the real image and the depth information corresponding to the synthetic image for each pixel are compared. Based on the comparison, either the image information corresponding to the real image or the image information corresponding to the synthetic image is selected and combined. Because the image information is compared based on depth, any interaction such as occluding, shadowing, reflecting, or colliding can be determined and an appropriate output generated

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.