CAMERA AND METHOD FOR CREATING ANNOTATED IMAGES

• US 20070258113A1
• Filed: 06/13/2005
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Vau, Jean-Marie, Seignol, Olivier, Papin, Christophe, Furon, Olivier, Touchard, Nicolas, Rigault, Olivier, Lebihen, Thierry
• Granted Patent: US 8,035,657 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/452
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3871 the composed originals being of different kinds, e.g. low- and high-resolution originals

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of annotation of images captured by a digital camera equipped with a previewing means, comprising:

• • the supply with the camera of an operating mode enabling a user to select one image (12) to be annotated, and to capture at least one additional previewed image; the automatic extraction (20) of an annotation (A) from the additional image; and the creation (22) of a new image by combining the annotation (A) and the image to be annotated (12), while respecting, in the new image, a location and enlargement ratio of the annotation virtually identical to those of the annotation in the additional image.

Claims

1. ) A method of annotation of images captured by a digital camera (100) equipped with a previewing means comprising:

supplying the camera with an operating mode enabling a user to select at least one image to be annotated, and to capture at least one additional previewed image,

automatically extracting an annotation (A) from the additional image, and

creating at least one new image by combining the annotation (A), and the image to be annotated while respecting, in the new image, a location and enlargement ratio of the annotation substantially identical to those of the annotation in the additional image.

2. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein extracting the annotation comprises the selection of contours (C) in the additional image corresponding to spatial intensity gradients exceeding a set value.

3. ) A method according to claim 2, wherein extracting the annotation comprises an operation of contour (C) closing to create at least one mask (M), and a thresholding carried out in at least one part of the additional image corresponding to this mask.

4. ) A method according to claim 1, comprising supplying an operating mode enabling the capture of a first additional image intended for fixing the annotation'"'"'s location and enlargement ratio in the new image, and the capture of a second additional image, intended for annotation extraction.

5. ) A method according to claim 1 comprising providing a combined display of the previewed additional image, and the image to be annotated.

6. ) A method according to claim 1, further comprising a previewing step during which the image to be annotated and an annotation (A) extracted from an additional image are displayed in a combined way on the camera'"'"'s control screen.

7. ) A method according to claim 1, comprising creating a video sequence by combining the annotation and a sequence of images to be annotated.

9. ) A camera according to claim 7, comprising a telecommunication module to remotely transmit the composite image.

8. A digital camera comprising:

previewing means of an image containing an annotation,

extraction means of an annotation of the previewed image,

selection means of an image to be annotated, and

creation means of a composite image by combining the image to be annotated with the annotation.