Method for removing from an image the background surrounding a selected subject by generating candidate mattes
US6288703A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 24, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 24, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N9/75
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In an image being displayed on a monitor, each observed background color is identified using a cursor to select the dominant colors. Each foreground color is also identified by using the cursor as a selector. For each pixel, several Candidate mattes are computed one for each background color. Each Candidate matte is computed from a single background color and the set of selected foreground colors using any known method. Of the several Candidate mattes, the greater of these Candidates becomes the matte signal for a given pixel. If this matte is 1.0, then the pixel is part of the background. If the matte is zero, then the pixel is part of the subject. If the matte is between 1.0 and 0.0, then the pixel is in a transition area and the contribution of the background to the pixel is that pixel's matte level. A `Processed Foreground` is generated by removing the contribution of the background from each pixel in the image, resulting in the subject appearing against a black field. The above generated Candidate mattes permit the generation of Processed Foreground Candidates. Of these Processed Foreground Candidates, the smallest is the final Processed Foreground for a given pixel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.