Image generating method, object detecting method, object detecting equipment, and image generating program

• US 20070003164A1
• Filed: 08/14/2006
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nobori, Kunio, Takata, Kazutoyo
• Granted Patent: US 7,747,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/254 involving subtraction of images

Abstract

A small region panorama image group (I₁^P, I₂^P, I₃^P) is generated in advance. The small region panorama image group (I₁^P, I₂^P, I₃^P) includes images including a common shooting range, being composed of a plurality of common partially overlapped regions (A, B, C, D), and having independency from each other in each partially overlapped region (A, B, C, D). With the use of the small region panorama image group (I₁^P, I₂^P, I₃^P), a predicted background image is generated in which light source environment is the same as that of a shot target image.

Claims

1. An image generating method comprising:

a first step of generating a small region panorama image group which is an image group of N images which include a shooting range common to each other, the N images being composed of a plurality of common partially overlapped regions and having independency from each other in each of the partially overlapped regions, wherein N is an integer larger than 2; and

a second step of generating, for a target image obtained by shooting at least a part of the shooting range, a predicted background image in which light source environment is the same as that of the target image with the use of the target image and the small region panorama image group.

2. The image generating method of claim 1,

wherein the first step includes the steps of:

selecting N images each including an overlapped region from a plurality of original images;

judging independency of the selected N images in the overlapped region;

storing, when independency is held, pats in the overlapped region of the N images as images of a partially overlapped region in the small region panorama image group; and

performing, when no independency is held, re-selection of N images each including an overlapped region.

3. The image generating method of claim 1,

wherein the second step includes, when the target image spreads across a plurality of partially overlapped regions, the steps of:

calculating linearization coefficients for the target image in each of the partially overlapped regions with the use of the target image and the small region panorama image group; and

generating the predicted background image with the use of the calculated linearization coefficients and the small region panorama image group.

4. An object detecting method comprising the steps of:

generating, by the image generating method of claim 1, the predicted background image for a detection target image serving as the target image; and

detecting an object reflected in the detection target image by comparing the detection target image and the predicted background image with each other.

5. Object detecting equipment comprising:

a small region panorama image group generation section for generating, with the use of a plurality of images stored in a shot image storing section, a small region panorama image group which is an image group of N images which include a shooting range common to each other, the N images being composed of a plurality of common partially overlapped regions and having independency from each other in each of the partially overlapped regions, wherein N is an integer larger than 2; and

an object detection section for detecting an object reflected in a detection target image obtained by shooting at least a part of the shooting range by generating a predicted background image in which light source environment is the same as that of the detection target image is generated for the detection target image with the use of the detection target image and the small region panorama image group and comparing the detection target image and the predicted background image with each other.

6. An image generating program for allowing a computer to execute image generation, wherein the computer executes:

a first step of generating a small region panorama image group which is an image group of N images which include a shooting range common to each other, the N images being composed of a plurality of common partially overlapped regions and having independency from each other in each of the partially overlapped regions, wherein N is an integer larger than 2; and

a second step of generating, for a target image obtained by shooting at least a part of the shooting range, a predicted background image in which light source environment is the same as that of the target image with the use of the target image and the small region panorama image group.