User interface for a system and method for head size equalization in 360 degree panoramic images

• US 20050206659A1
• Filed: 04/14/2005
• Published: 09/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Cutler, Ross
• Granted Patent: US 7,149,367 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/660
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/00 Panoramic or wide-screen photography; Photographing extended surfaces, e.g. for surveying; Photographing internal surfaces, e.g. of pipe
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 39/00 High-speed photography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/12 Panospheric to cylindrical image transformations
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/80 Geometric correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A User Interface (UI) for a real-time panoramic image correction system and method that simplifies the use of the system for the user. The UI includes a control panel that allows a user to enter meeting table size and shape, camera position and orientation, and the amount of normalization desired (e.g. 0 to 100%). A window can also be implemented on a display that displays the corrected panoramic image. In this window, the head (either normalized or non-normalized) of a meeting participant, preferably one that is speaking, is extracted and displayed in a separate window. Additionally, the corrected panoramic image, whose size will vary in conjunction with the amount of warping applied, can be displayed and transmitted with extra pixels around its perimeter in order to allow the corrected or normalized panoramic image to adapt to any of the standard display size and resolutions and to simplify network transmission. The corrected image can also be transmitted with standard resolutions using non-unity pixel aspect ratios to simply network transmission.

Claims

1. In a computer system comprising a display, user interface selection device and user interface data entry device, a process for normalizing portions of a 360 degree panoramic image, comprising:

displaying on the display a control panel for entering parameters required to normalize portions of a 360 degree panoramic image; and

entering the parameters required to normalize portions of the 360 degree panoramic image via said displayed control panel.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the parameters required to normalize the 360 degree panoramic image comprise camera position, camera orientation, horizontal feature geometry and percentage of normalization desired.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein the horizontal feature geometry comprises at least one of:

meeting table geometry on which a camera corresponding to the camera position and orientation is set; and

geometry of a plane corresponding to the top of people'"'"'s heads sitting around the meeting table.

4. The process of claim 2 wherein the meeting table geometry comprises the size and shape of the meeting table and wherein the camera orientation is specified relative to the meeting table geometry.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the control panel is a displayed on a Liquid Crystal Display.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the control panel is accessible via a network user interface.

7. The process of claim 2 wherein the percentage of normalization desired varies between 0% and 100%.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the portions of the panoramic image normalized relate to head size of persons sitting around a table and captured by the camera.

9. The process of claim 3 wherein the camera position and orientation is relative to the geometry of the table.

10. The process of claim 1 wherein the computer system is embedded in a camera.

11. A graphical user interface for displaying portions of a panoramic image comprising:

a display pane for displaying an extracted portion of an approximately 360 degree panoramic image.

12. The graphical user interface of claim 11 wherein the extracted portion of the panoramic image is the non-normalized head of a person depicted in the panoramic image.

13. The user interface of claim 11 wherein the extracted portion of the panoramic image is a normalized head of a person depicted in the panoramic image.

14. The user interface of claim 11 wherein the person is speaking.

15. A process for displaying and transmitting a scaled image over a network, comprising the process actions of:

scaling an image;

adjusting the scaled image with extra pixels around its perimeter so that the scaled image fits a specified size; and

displaying the scaled image with extra pixels around its perimeter.

16. The process of claim 15, further comprising the process action of transmitting the adjusted scaled image.

17. The process of claim 16, further comprising the process actions of:

receiving the adjusted scaled image;

displaying the adjusted scaled image.

18. The process of claim 16, further comprising the process actions of:

receiving the adjusted scaled image;

displaying the adjusted scaled image without the extra pixels around its perimeter.

19. The process of claim 15 wherein the extra pixels are displayed in black.

20. A process for displaying and transmitting a scaled image over a network, comprising the process actions of:

scaling an image;

setting the pixel aspect ratio to account for the difference between the standard resolution and and scaled resolution;

transmitting the image in the standard resolution; and

displaying the scaled image at the original scaled resolution.