Method for removal of moving objects from a video stream

• US 20050243192A1
• Filed: 02/23/2005
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Clee, Scott John, Allman, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,483,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/239
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/215 Motion-based segmentation

Abstract

A method of removing a moving part from a video stream image comprising obtaining a plurality of frame-series images of the scene, each image comprising a moving part and a static part; comparing the plurality of frame-series images to identify parts of the scene that are static for a plurality of frames; and building part of the scene identified as static.

Claims

1. A method of removing a moving part from a video stream image of a given scene, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining a plurality of frame-series images of the scene, each image comprising a moving part and a static part;

comparing the plurality of frame-series images to identify parts of the scene which are static for a plurality of frames; and

building a single image of the scene comprising substantially a part of the scene identified as static.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the steps of comparing and building comprise histogramming the frame-series images in order to remove noise therefrom, and combining the histogrammed plurality frame series images to produce the single image.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the single image is formed using the most common value for each frame pixel, whereby the resulting image is a representation of the scene with an undesired moving object removed.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of histogramming comprises producing for each pixel a pixel confidence value representative of the ratio of the number of times the pixel has been its most common colour and the total number of colours that the pixel has been.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of building comprises producing for each frame an image confidence value representative of the ratio of the total number of pixels with pixel confidence value greater than a predetermined value and the total number of pixels.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of obtaining comprises obtaining a plurality of frame-series images of the scene captured with a motion control camera.

7. A computer program storage product comprising computer program means for performing substantially the method of any one of claims 1-6.

8. An apparatus for removing a moving part from a video stream image of a given scene, the apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining a plurality of frame-series images of the scene, each image comprising a moving part and a static part;

means for comparing the plurality of frame-series images to identify parts of the scene which are static for a plurality of frames; and

means for building a single image of the scene comprising substantially a part of the scene identified as static.