Image processing apparatus and method
US7330584B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 14, 2004 |
| Grant date | Feb 12, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 20, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06V10/24
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An image processing apparatus and an image processing method, applied to e.g. a TV conference system or a TV telephone system, in which an image to be transmitted or received is captured and reconstructed into a virtual view point image which may appear as if it is captured by a virtual camera. The correspondence between pixels may be taken with higher robustness and higher accuracy, while mismatch in such correspondence, otherwise caused due to disparity, may be reduced to as small a value as possible. To this end, the disparity between the images, obtained on imaging an object from different view points by at least two cameras 11a, 12a, are detected and, based on the detected disparity, each of the images is separated into plural image regions. The relation of correspondence is found of the separated each image region, in association with the object, from one pixel position on the same horizontal lines to the next. From the pixel positions and the associated luminance components, for which the relation of correspondence has been found, a virtual view point image, to be generated by a virtual camera, mounted imaginarily, is constructed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.