Optimal dynamic seam adjustment system and method for image stitching

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9251612-B2
Application number	US-201414219355-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 19, 2014
Priority date	Dec 16, 2013
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

An optimal dynamic seam adjustment system for image stitching includes an image obtaining module, a feature difference calculation module and a dynamic seam module. The image obtaining module obtains at least two images to be stitched, which have at least one overlapping area divided into a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of pixel columns and a plurality of pixel rows. The feature difference calculation module calculates a feature difference value for each pixel within the overlapping area. The dynamic seam module establishes a plurality of dynamic seam routes started from a top end of the overlapping area, so as to find an optimal dynamic seam route based on the feature difference value, wherein each dynamic seam route is composed of a plurality of pixels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optimal dynamic seam adjustment system for image stitching, comprising:
an image obtaining module for obtaining at least two images to be stitched, wherein the images to be stitched have at least one overlapping area and the overlapping area is divided into a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of pixel columns and a plurality of pixel rows;
a feature difference calculation module for calculating a feature difference value for each pixel within the overlapping area; and
a dynamic seam module for establishing a plurality of dynamic seam routes started from a top end of the overlapping area, so as to find an optimal dynamic seam route based on the feature difference value, wherein each dynamic seam route is composed of a plurality of pixels,
wherein the dynamic seam module comprises a dynamic seam establishing module for continuously selecting one pixel position in each column or row from the top end of the overlapping area to the other end and linking the pixel positions selected in each pixel column or row into a dynamic seam route, thereby establishing the plurality of dynamic seam routes; and an optimal dynamic seam selecting module for adding the feature difference values of each pixel position in each of the dynamic routes and selecting a minimum dynamic seam route as the optimal dynamic seam route.

2. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the feature difference calculation module comprises a current feature difference calculating module for calculating the feature difference values of each pixel position within the overlapping area of the at least two images to be stitched.

3. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the feature difference calculation module further comprises an auxiliary feature difference calculating module for adding the feature difference values of each pixel position and its neighboring pixel positions in the overlapping area.

4. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dynamic seam module comprises an auxiliary dynamic seam establishing module for adding the feature difference values of each pixel position and its neighboring pixel positions into an accurate feature difference value so as to establish the plurality of dynamic seam routes.

5. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the dynamic seam module further comprises an optimal dynamic seam selecting module for adding the accurate feature difference values of each pixel position in each of the dynamic routes and selecting a minimum dynamic seam route for use as the optimal dynamic seam route.

6. An optimal dynamic seam adjustment system for image stitching, comprising:
a video obtaining module for obtaining at least two videos to be stitched, wherein each video has a plurality of images so as to stitch several image sets, each image set having at least one overlapping area of the same size, the overlapping area being divided into a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows;
a feature difference calculation module for calculating a feature difference value for each pixel position within the overlapping area of a current image set to be stitched; and
a dynamic seam module for establishing a plurality of dynamic seam routes started from a top end of the overlapping area of the current image set to be stitched, so as to find an optimal dynamic seam route based on the feature difference value of the current image set to be stitched and the optimal dynamic seam route of a previous stitched image set, wherein each dynamic seam route is composed of a plurality of pixels,
wherein the dynamic seam module comprises a dynamic seam establishing module for continuously selecting one pixel position in each column or row from the top end of the overlapping area to the other end and linking the pixel positions selected in each pixel column or row into a dynamic seam route, thereby establishing the plurality of dynamic seam routes; a front and rear seam position comparing module for comparing a current pixel position of each of the dynamic seam routes with a pixel position of the optimal dynamic seam route of a previous stitched image that the current pixel position locates in the same pixel column or row, thereby finding a front and rear seam position difference value; and an optimal seam selecting module for adding a total of the feature difference values of the pixel positions of each of the dynamic seam routes and a total of the front and rear seam position difference values and selecting a minimum dynamic seam route as the optimal dynamic seam route.

7. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the feature difference calculation module comprises a current feature difference calculating module for calculating a current feature difference value for each pixel position within the overlapping area of at least two images to be stitched of the at least two videos and using the current feature difference value as the feature difference value.

8. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the feature difference calculation module further comprises a front and rear seam position comparing module for finding a front and rear seam position difference value for each pixel position within the overlapping area of a current image and a previous image in the same video.

9. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the feature difference calculation module further comprises a joint feature difference calculating module for adding the current feature difference value and front and rear feature difference value of each pixel position into a joint feature difference value and replacing the feature difference value with the joint feature difference value.

10. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the feature difference calculation module further comprises an auxiliary feature difference calculating module for adding the feature difference values of each pixel position and its neighboring pixel positions so as to reduce an erroneous determination.

11. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the dynamic seam module further comprises an auxiliary dynamic seam establishing module for adding the feature difference values of each pixel position and its neighboring pixel positions into an accurate feature difference value so as to establish the plurality of dynamic seam routes.

12. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the dynamic seam module further comprises a front and rear seam position comparing module for comparing a current pixel position of each of the dynamic seam routes with a pixel position of the optimal dynamic seam route of a previous stitched image that the current pixel position locates in the same pixel column or row, thereby finding a front and rear seam position difference value.

13. The optimal dynamic seam adjustment system as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the dynamic seam module further comprises an optimal seam selecting module for adding a total of the accurate feature difference values of the pixel positions of each of the dynamic seam routes and a total of the front and rear seam position difference values and selecting a minimum dynamic seam route as the optimal dynamic seam route.

14. An optimal dynamic seam adjustment method for image stitching, which is performed by an image processor to control an image obtaining module, a feature difference calculation module, an

Assignees

• Univ Nat Chiao Tung

Inventors

• Guo Jiun-In
• Chang Hsiu-Cheng
• Chien Cheng-An
• Huang Kai-Chen

Classifications

• G06T11/60 Primary

  Creating or editing images; Combining images with text · CPC title

• G06T2207/10004

  Still image; Photographic image · CPC title

• G06T2207/20221

  Image fusion; Image merging · CPC title

• G06T3/4038 Primary

  Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images · CPC title

• G06T3/153

  using elastic snapping · CPC title