IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20100215214A1
• Filed: 11/17/2009
• Published: 08/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Image Processing Technologies, LLC (General Patent Corporation), Southern District of Florida
• Original Assignee: Image Processing Technologies, LLC (General Patent Corporation)
• Inventors: Pirim, Patrick
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,001 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20104 Interactive definition of region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30241 Trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/002 Denoising; Smoothing noise processing or correction adapted to be used in an image pickup device containing and electronic image sensor H04N23/81, H04N25/60 - H04N25/67
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/10 Segmentation; Edge detection motion-based segmentation G06T7/215
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/246 using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/50 by performing operations within image blocks; by using histograms, e.g. histogram of oriented gradients [HoG]; by summing image-intensity values; Projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming

Abstract

A method and apparatus for localizing an area in relative movement and for determining the speed and direction thereof in real time is disclosed. Each pixel of an image is smoothed using its own time constant. A binary value corresponding to the existence of a significant variation in the amplitude of the smoothed pixel from the prior frame, and the amplitude of the variation, are determined, and the time constant for the pixel is updated. For each particular pixel, two matrices are formed that include a subset of the pixels spatially related to the particular pixel. The first matrix contains the binary values of the subset of pixels. The second matrix contains the amplitude of the variation of the subset of pixels. In the first matrix, it is determined whether the pixels along an oriented direction relative to the particular pixel have binary values representative of significant variation, and, for such pixels, it is determined in the second matrix whether the amplitude of these pixels varies in a known manner indicating movement in the oriented direction. In each of several domains, histogram of the values in the first and second matrices falling in such domain is formed. Using the histograms, it is determined whether there is an area having the characteristics of the particular domain. The domains include luminance, hue, saturation, speed (V), oriented direction (D1), time constant (CO), first axis (x(m)), and second axis (y(m)).

Claims

1-50. -50. (canceled)

51. A process of tracking a target in an input signal implemented using a system comprising an image processing system, the input signal comprising a succession of frames, each frame comprising a succession of pixels, the target comprising pixels in one or more of a plurality of classes in one or more of a plurality of domains, the process performed by said system comprising, on a frame-by-frame basis:

forming at least one histogram of the pixels in the one or more of a plurality of classes in the one or more of a plurality of domains, said at least one histogram referring to classes defining said target, and identifying the target from said at least one histogram.

52. The process according to claim 51 further comprising drawing a tracking box around the target.

53. The process according to claim 51, wherein said image processing system comprises at least one components selected from a memory, a temporal processing unit, and a spatial processing unit.

54. The process according to claim 51, wherein said image processing system comprises at least two components selected from a memory, a temporal processing unit, and a spatial processing unit.