Interactive image seamer for panoramic images

• US 20040257384A1
• Filed: 02/26/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersive Licensing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: iMove Inc. (Digital Domain Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Park, Michael C., Gilbert, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 7,620,909 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/646
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/806 with processing of the sound signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8211 the additional signal being a sound signal H04N9/835 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8233 the additional signal being a character code signal

Abstract

An interactive computer program for seaming a number of images into a panorama. Various parameters which affect how the images are seamed can be changed interactively. Parameters such as position, orientation, focal length, which image will be visible where images overlap, and the opacity curve can be changed. The result of any change is immediately visible. A user can move the control points, thereby “morphing” or distorting the contribution to the panorama of an image. Each pixel is assigned an “alpha” value which indicates the opacity value of that pixel in an area where images overlap. Alpha values can be changed according to a pre-established curve. The original images are not changed. Instead, only the transform between the original images and the final panorama is changed.

Claims

1-14. -14. (Cancel)

15. An interactive seamer for panoramic images, comprising:

a user interface having a first display area for displaying a panoramic image and a second display area for displaying two or more single view images projected from the panoramic image, the two or more single view images having overlapping portions at least partially encompassed by at least one outlined area, each pixel in the overlapping portions encompassed by the outlined area having an opacity value that is determined by the location of the pixel in the outlined area and a predetermined opacity curve; and

an image seamer for seaming the two or more single view images into the panoramic image, wherein the opacity values of the pixels in the overlapping portions encompassed by the outlined area can be manually adjusted by changing the size of the outlined area in the second display area.

16. An interactive seamer for panoramic images, comprising:

a user interface having a first display area for displaying a panoramic image generated from a number of single view images and a second display area for displaying a selected single view image projected from the panoramic image, wherein control points are superimposed on an area in the panoramic image corresponding to the selected single view image for manually inducing changes in parts of the panoramic image, the manually induced changes being independent of placement or movement of the selected single view image within the panoramic image; and

an image seamer for seaming the selected single view image into the panoramic image based on user specified parameters.

17. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein at least one parameter adjusts the focal length of the selected portion of the panoramic image.

18. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein the user interface includes a third display area for displaying values of parameters.

19. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein at least one parameter provides high resolution zoom to enable a user to examine artifacts without requiring a high resolution representation of the entire panoramic image.

20. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein at least one parameter specifies an artificial horizon in the panoramic image.

21. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein at least one parameter specifies the lay down order of multiple single view images seamed together to form the panoramic image.

22. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein the user interface includes multiple view windows for simultaneously showing a perspectively correct view of the selected single view image and a changed view of the single view image.

23. The interactive seamer of claim 16, wherein the selected single view image with manually induced changes is capable or being repositioned within the panoramic image without disturbing the manually induced changes.

24. A method of interactively seaming single view images into a panoramic image, comprising:

displaying a panoramic image in a first display area of a user interface;

displaying two or more single view images projected from the panoramic image in a second display area of the user interface, the two or more single view images having overlapping portions at least partially encompassed by at least one outlined area, each pixel in the overlapping portions encompassed by the outlined area having an opacity value that is determined by the location of the pixel in the outlined area and a predetermined opacity curve; and

seaming the two or more single view images into the panoramic image, wherein the opacity value of the pixels in the overlapping portions encompassed by the outlined area can be manually adjusted by changing the size of the outlined area in the second display area.