Metadata-driven method and apparatus for automatically aligning distorted images
US8368773B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 29, 2008 |
| Grant date | Feb 5, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 18, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/61
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for aligning and unwarping distorted images in which lens profiles for a variety of lens and camera combinations are precomputed. Metadata stored with images is used to automatically determine if a set of component images include an excessive amount of distortion, and if so the metadata is used to determine an appropriate lens profile and initial unwarping function. The initial unwarping function is applied to the coordinates of feature points of the component images to generate substantially rectilinear feature points, which are used to estimate focal lengths, centers, and relative rotations for pairs of the images. A global nonlinear optimization is applied to the initial unwarping function(s) and the relative rotations to generate optimized unwarping functions and rotations for the component images. The optimized unwarping functions and rotations may be used to render a panoramic image.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.