Image generating apparatus, image generating method, and program

• US 10,628,916 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2018
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nara Institute of Science and Technology, National University Corporation, Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Daisuke, Kawai, Norihiko, Sato, Tomokazu, Yokoya, Naokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jonathan S
• Application Number:
  US16/184,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20190073743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: 382254
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/12 Panospheric to cylindrical image transformations

Abstract

An image generating apparatus for generating an output image based on an input panorama image, includes a parameter input unit inputting an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, the correction parameter designating a correction part to be corrected in the output image; and an image correction unit correcting the correction part designated by the correction parameter in the output image. Further, the image correction unit calculates a similarity between the correction part and peripheral pixels and corrects the correction part based on the similarity and the peripheral pixels, and the output image is generated from the output range of the panorama image and is the panorama image corrected by the correction.

Claims

1. An image generating apparatus for generating an output image based on a panorama image that is captured and input by a user holding the image generating apparatus, the panorama image including an image of at least a portion of the user'"'"'s hand, the image generating apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing program instructions that cause the processor to

input an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, and the correction parameter designating a portion of the panorama image including the image of at least a portion of the user'"'"'s hand as a correction part to be masked in the output image;

set a first projection surface indicating a surface of a range to be output to the output image;

set a second projection surface formed by moving the first projection surface to an area indicated by the output range parameter;

set first coordinates on the first projection surface;

set second coordinates, which correspond to the first coordinates, on the second projection surface;

set a sphere inscribed in the first projection surface and the second projection surface;

calculate a distance between the first coordinates on the first projection surface and the second coordinates on the second projection surface based on an arc length calculated based on a radius of the sphere and a length of one side of the first projection surface;

calculate a similarity between pixels in the correction part and peripheral pixels of the correction part;

mask the pixels of the correction part in the output image, with pixels of a value corresponding to the similarity between the pixels in the correction part and the peripheral pixels of the correction part; and

display on a display device, the output image in which the value of the pixels of the correction part is changed to the pixels of the value corresponding to the similarity.

2. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor calculates the similarity more than once by using a number of pixels or a resolution of the output image or the output image whose direction has been changed.

3. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor changes the output range based on a ratio of the correction part to the output range.

4. The image generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the change of the output range is an enlargement of the output range.

5. The image generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the change of the output range is a decrease in a number of pixels of the output range.

6. The image generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the change of the output range is a change in a number of pixels of the output range to be equal or substantially equal to a resolution of the panorama image.

7. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor masks the correction part in the output image more than once while determining whether to further mask before each masking based on a number of pixels of the output image.

10. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to

input an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, and the correction parameter designating a correction part to be masked in the output image;

correct the correction part designated by the correction parameter in the output image based on the similarity and the peripheral pixels; and

generate the output image from the output range of the panorama image, the output range being designated by the output range parameter, and is the panorama image corrected by masking the correction part.

8. An image generating method of generating an output image based on a panorama image that is captured and input by a user holding an image generating apparatus, the panorama image including an image of at least a portion of the user'"'"'s hand, the image generating method comprising:

inputting an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, the correction parameter designating a portion of the panorama image including the image of at least a portion of the user'"'"'s hand as a correction part to be masked in the output image;

setting a first projection surface indicating a surface of a range to be output to the output image;

setting a second projection surface formed by moving the first projection surface to an area indicated by the output range parameter;

setting first coordinates on the first projection surface;

setting second coordinates, which correspond to the first coordinates, on the second projection surface;

setting a sphere inscribed in the first projection surface and the second projection surface;

calculating a distance between the first coordinates on the first projection surface and the second coordinates on the second projection surface based on an arc length calculated based on a radius of the sphere and a length of one side of the first projection surface;

calculating a similarity between pixels in the correction part and peripheral pixels of the correction part;

masking the pixels of the correction part in the output image, with pixels of a value corresponding to the similarity between the pixels in the correction part and the peripheral pixels of the correction part; and

displaying on a display device, the output image in which the value of the pixels of the correction part is changed to the pixels of the value corresponding to the similarity.

11. The image generating method according to claim 8, further comprising:

inputting an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, and the correction parameter designating a correction part to be masked in the output image;

correcting the correction part designated by the correction parameter in the output image based on the similarity and the peripheral pixels; and

generating the output image from the output range of the panorama image, the output range being designated by the output range parameter, and is the panorama image corrected by masking the correction part.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program for causing a computer to perform an image generating method of generating an output image based on a panorama image that is captured and input by a user holding an image generating apparatus, the panorama image including an image of at least a portion of the user'"'"'s hand, the image generating method including:

inputting an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, the correction parameter designating a portion of the panorama image including the image of at least a portion of the user'"'"'s hand as a correction part to be masked in the output image;

setting a first projection surface indicating a surface of a range to be output to the output image;

setting a second projection surface formed by moving the first projection surface to an area indicated by the output range parameter;

setting first coordinates on the first projection surface;

setting second coordinates, which correspond to the first coordinates, on the second projection surface;

setting a sphere inscribed in the first projection surface and the second projection surface;

calculating a distance between the first coordinates on the first projection surface and the second coordinates on the second projection surface based on an arc length calculated based on a radius of the sphere and a length of one side of the first projection surface;

calculating a similarity between pixels in the correction part and peripheral pixels of the correction part;

masking the pixels of the correction part in the output image, with pixels of a value corresponding to the similarity between pixels in the correction part and the peripheral pixels of the correction part; and

displaying on a display device, the output image in which the value of the pixels of the correction part is changed to the pixels of the value corresponding to the similarity.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium claim 9, wherein the image generating method further includes:

inputting an output range parameter and a correction parameter, the output range parameter designating an output range in the panorama image, and the correction parameter designating a correction part to be masked in the output image;

correcting the correction part designated by the correction parameter in the output image based on the similarity and the peripheral pixels; and

generating the output image from the output range of the panorama image, the output range being designated by the output range parameter, and is the panorama image corrected by masking the correction part.