Method for classifying a colour image as to whether it is an exterior or an interior shot

• US 20040071341A1
• Filed: 11/17/2003
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: École centrale de Lyon
• Original Assignee: École centrale de Lyon
• Inventors: Ardebilian, Mohsen, Mahdi, Walid, Chen, Liming
• Application Number:
  US10/432,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20040071341A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/164
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/56 relating to colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/35 Categorising the entire scene, e.g. birthday party or wedding scene

Abstract

Classification process for a colour image with a view to determining the shot location, i.e. exterior or interior, consisting in particular of the following:

determining spectral bands of reference colours B_i corresponding to different image temperature values allowing for the characterisation of an exterior image or an interior image,

selecting a colour image to be analysed,

digitising the selected colour image so that it can be defined in a given colour area (for example RGB),

determining at least for the spectral bands of the reference colours the distribution of colour spectrums of at least part of the digitised colour image,

and analysing the colour spectrums of the digitised image in order to determine the temperature of the image corresponding to an interior image or an exterior image depending on their distribution according to the spectral bands of reference colours.

Claims

1. - Classification process for a colour image with a view to determining the shot location, i.e. exterior or interior, consisting in particular of the following:

determining spectral bands of reference colours B_i corresponding to different image temperature values allowing for the characterisation of an exterior image or an interior image,

selecting a colour image to be analysed,

digitising the selected colour image so that it can be defined in a given colour area (for example RGB),

determining at least for the spectral bands of the reference colours the distribution of colour spectrums of at least part of the digitised colour image,

and analysing the colour spectrums of the digitised image in order to determine the temperature of the image corresponding to an interior image or an exterior image depending on their distribution according to the spectral bands of reference colours.

2. - Process according to claim 1 consisting in particular of the determination of spectral bands in red, yellow and green arranged by temperature in ascending order as spectral bands of reference colours.

3. - Process according to claim 1 consisting in particular, for the selection of part of the digitised colour image, of:

transforming the digitised colour image defined in a given colour area (for example (RGB) into an image in the YIQ colour area,

dividing the image in the YIQ colour area into basic blocks of pixels,

calculating the average luminance Y and the average in phase I for each basic block of pixels,

selecting the block of pixels with the maximum sum of the average luminance Y and the average in phase I,

and determining the distribution of the colour spectrums for the selected block of pixels corresponding to the part of the colour image.

4. - Process according to claim 1 or 3 consisting in particular of determining the distribution of the colour spectrums M_f of part of the colour image by using the formula below:

M_f=M_rro+M_vvo+M_bbo,

where M_f, M_v, M_b correspond to the pixel matrix of the part of the image of the component, respectively red (R), green (G) and blue (B), and ro=700, vo=546,1 and bo=435,8.

5. - Process according to claim 4 consisting in particular of calculating an amplified version A_f of the distribution of colour spectrums M_f, based on the following formula:

6. - Process according to claim 5 consisting in particular of determining the histogram of the colour spectrum of the part of the image for the colour spectrums of red (A_f(i,j)=600), yellow (A_f(i,j))=560) and green (A_f(i,j)=490) on the basis of the amplified version A_f.

7. - Process according to claim 6 consisting in particular of determining the two peaks in the colour spectrums relating to the red, yellow and green colour bands.

8. - Process according to claims 1 and 7 consisting in particular of analysing the two peaks in the colour spectrums in the red, yellow and green colour bands in order to determine the temperature of the image and, by extension, whether it corresponds to an interior image or an exterior image.

9. - Process according to claim 8 consisting in particular of classifying an image respectively as an interior image or an exterior image in the case of a single peak corresponding to 100% of the green or red spectral band.

10. - Process according to claim 8 consisting in particular of classifying an image respectively as an interior image or an exterior image in the case of a peak in the red band with a higher or lower value than the peak in the green band.

11. - Process according to claim 8 consisting in particular of classifying an image respectively as an interior image or an exterior image in the case of a peak in the red band with a higher or lower value than the peak in the yellow band.

12. - Process according to claim 8 consisting in particular of classifying an image respectively as an interior image or an exterior image in the case of a peak in the yellow band with a higher or lower value than the peak in the green band.

13. - Process according to claim 8 consisting in particular, in the case of a single peak corresponding to the entire yellow spectral band, of transforming the image into grey levels and analysing the histogram on the basis of the grey levels in order to classify the image as an exterior image or interior image respectively depending on the number of pixels in the white or dark colour areas.