3D image processing apparatus improving depth accuracy of region of interest and method

• US 20100290674A1
• Filed: 11/12/2009
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Seong Jin
• Granted Patent: US 8,369,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/106
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/10 using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves determination of distance by phase measurements G01S17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/894 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/483 Details of pulse systems

Abstract

Example embodiments relate to a three-dimensional (3D) image processing apparatus and method that may determine a Region Of Interest (ROI) in an entire sensing region of the 3D image processing apparatus, and may obtain a depth image of the ROI. Also, example embodiments may be applied to a surveillance camera system, a motion detection system, a virtual reality simulation system, a distance recognition system for vehicles, a robotic system, a background separation system based on depth information, etc.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional (3D) image processing method, comprising:

determining a Region Of Interest (ROI) in an entire sensing region of a 3D image processing apparatus;

modulating a pulse of an emitted light based on a depth from a reference point in relation to the 3D image processing apparatus to the ROI; and

obtaining a depth image of the ROI using the pulse-modulated emitted light.

2. The 3D image processing method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

obtaining a depth image in the entire sensing region using the emitted light where an on-time period is T_max, T_max being a value obtained by converting a maximum sensing distance of the 3D image processing apparatus into a Time Of Flight (TOF); and

extracting depth information of the ROI from the depth image in the entire sensing region.

3. The 3D image processing method of claim 2, wherein the extracting comprises:

emitting the emitted light where the on-time period is T_max;

receiving a reflected light of the emitted light where the on-time period is T_max; and

extracting the depth information of the ROI based on the TOF between the reflected light and the emitted light where the on-time period is T_max.

4. The 3D image processing method of claim 1, wherein the modulating comprises:

converting a starting point Z₁ and an end point Z₂ of the ROI into a Time Of Flight (TOF) T₁ and a TOF T₂, respectively; and

modulating an on-time period of the emitted light into a difference (T₂−

T₁) between the TOF T₂ and the TOF T₁.

5. The 3D image processing method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the depth image comprises:

modulating a duty cycle of a first transfer signal and a duty cycle of a second transfer signal to be identical to a duty cycle of the pulse-modulated emitted light;

delaying the duty cycle-modulated first transfer signal by T₁, and delaying the duty cycle-modulated second transfer signal by T₂, T₁ and T₂ being obtained by converting a starting point Z₁ and an end point Z₂ of the ROI into a Time Of Flight (TOF), respectively; and

obtaining the depth of the ROI using the duty cycle-modulated first transfer signal which is delayed by T₁ and using the duty cycle-modulated second transfer signal which is delayed by T₂.

6. The 3D image processing method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether an object located in the ROI moves outside of the ROI, after obtaining the depth image of the ROI; and

resetting the ROI when the object moves outside of the ROI.

7. The 3D image processing method of claim 6, wherein the resetting comprises:

obtaining the depth image in the entire sensing region using an emitted light where an on-time period is T_max, T_max being a value obtained by converting a maximum sensing distance of the 3D image processing apparatus into a Time Of Flight (TOF); and

extracting depth information from the depth image in the entire sensing region, the depth information being used to reset the ROI.

8. A 3D image processing apparatus, comprising:

an image signal processor determining a Region Of Interest (ROI) in an entire sensing region of the 3D image processing apparatus and controlling a pulse of an emitted light based on a depth from a reference point in relation to the image signal processor to the ROI; and

a sensor unit obtaining a depth image under control of the image signal processor.

9. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the image signal processor comprises:

an ROI determination unit determining the ROI in the entire sensing region of the 3D image processing apparatus;

a control unit controlling a light module to modulate the pulse of the emitted light based on the depth from the reference point to the ROI; and

a depth information computation unit computing the depth from a depth image provided from the sensor unit.

10. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the image signal processor controls the sensor unit to obtain the depth image in the entire sensing region using the emitted light where an on-time period is T_max, and extracts depth information of the ROI from the depth image in the entire sensing region, T_max being a value obtained by converting a maximum sensing distance of the 3D image processing apparatus into a Time Of Flight (TOF).

11. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the image signal processor controls a light module to emit the emitted light where the on-time period is T_max, and extracts the depth information of the ROI based on a TOF between a reflected light and the emitted light where the on-time period is T_max.

12. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the image signal processor controls a light module to modulate the on-time period of the emitted light into a difference (T₂−

T₁) between T₂ and T₁, T₁ and T₂ being obtained by, converting a starting point Z₁ and an end point Z₂ of the ROI into a Time of Flight (TOF), respectively.

13. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the image signal processor determines whether to reset the ROI for each frame of the depth image provided from the sensor unit.

14. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the image signal processor determines an ROI of an m^th frame of the depth image, provided from the sensor unit, using an m−

1^th frame of the depth image provided from the sensor unit.

15. The 3D image processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sensor unit modulates a duty cycle of a first transfer signal and a duty cycle of a second transfer signal to be identical to a duty cycle of the pulse-controlled emitted light.