Methods for identifying, separating and editing reflection components in multi-channel images and videos
US7689035B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 2006 |
| Grant date | Mar 30, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 28, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/20036
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention presents a framework for separating specular and diffuse reflection components in images and videos. Each pixel of the an M-channel input image illuminated by N light sources is linearly transformed into a new color space having (M−N) channels. For an RGB image with one light source, the new color space has two color channels (U,V) that are free of specularities and a third channel (S) that contains both specular and diffuse components. When used with multiple light sources, the transformation may be used to produce a specular invariant image. A diffuse RGB image can be obtained by applying a non-linear partial differential equation to an RGB image to iteratively erode the specular component at each pixel. An optional third dimension of time may be added for processing video images. After the specular and diffuse components are separated, dichromatic editing may be used to independently process the diffuse and the specular components to add or suppress visual effects. The (U,V) channels of images can be used as input to 3-D shape estimation algorithms including shape-from-shading, photometric stereo, binocular and multinocular stereopsis, and structure-from-mo…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.