Device, Method, and Program for Image Processing

• US 20110206282A1
• Filed: 01/24/2011
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: AISAKA, Kazuki, Murayama, Jun, Yokokawa, Masatoshi, Tokunaga, Nodoka
• Granted Patent: US 8,478,072 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/195
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

An image processing device includes a subject region detector that detects a subject region from an input image; a cutting unit that cuts an image of the subject region from the input image; a priority calculator that calculates a priority of each of predetermined regions on a boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image; a retrieval unit that retrieves a region similar to an image of a predetermined region with a top priority from among the priorities, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut; a recovery unit that recovers the subject region by copying an image of an adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieval unit and includes a region corresponding to a region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region; and a composition unit that combines the image of the subject region cut by the cutting unit with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovery unit.

Claims

1. An image processing device comprising:

subject region detection means for detecting a region, where a subject is present, as a subject region from an input image;

cutting means for cutting an image of the subject region from the input image;

priority calculation means for calculating a priority of each of predetermined regions on a boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image;

retrieval means for retrieving a region similar to an image of a predetermined region with a top priority from among the priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut;

recovery means for recovering the subject region by copying an image of an adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieval means and includes a region corresponding to a region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region; and

composition means for combining the image of the subject region cut by the cutting means with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovery means.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

additional region input means for inputting an additional region corresponding to the subject region; and

subject region adding means for adding, as the subject region, the region with the additional region added to the subject region.

3. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the priority calculation means re-calculates a priority of each of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region recovered by the recovery means,

wherein the retrieval means retrieves a region similar to an image of a predetermined region with a top priority from among the re-calculated priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut, and

wherein the recovery means recovers the subject region by copying an image of an adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieval means and includes a region corresponding to a region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region.

4. The image processing device according to claim 3, wherein the priority calculation means, the retrieval means, and the recovery means repeat their processing until an entire region of the subject region is recovered.

5. An image processing method of an image processing device, the device including

subject region detection means for detecting a region, where a subject is present, as a subject region from an input image,

cutting means for cutting an image of the subject region from the input image,

priority calculation means for calculating a priority of each of predetermined regions on a boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image,

retrieval means for retrieving a region similar to an image of a predetermined region with a top priority from among the priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut,

recovery means for recovering the subject region by copying an image of an adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieval means and includes a region corresponding to a region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region, and

composition means for combining the image of the subject region cut by the cutting means with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovery means,

the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the region, where the subject is present, as the subject region from the input image, by the subject region detection means;

cutting the image of the subject region from the input image, by the cutting means;

calculating the priority of each of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image, by the priority calculation means;

retrieving the region similar to the image of the predetermined region with the top priority from among the priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut, by the retrieval means;

recovering the subject region by copying the image of the adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieving and includes the region corresponding to the region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region, by the recovery means; and

combining the image of the subject region cut by the cutting with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovering, by the composition means.

6. A program executable by a computer that controls an image processing device, the device including

subject region detection means for detecting a region, where a subject is present, as a subject region from an input image,

cutting means for cutting an image of the subject region from the input image,

priority calculation means for calculating a priority of each of predetermined regions on a boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image,

retrieval means for retrieving a region similar to an image of a predetermined region with a top priority from among the priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut,

recovery means for recovering the subject region by copying an image of an adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieval means and includes a region corresponding to a region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region, and

composition means for combining the image of the subject region cut by the cutting means with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovery means,

the program causing the computer to execute processing comprising the steps of:

detecting the region, where the subject is present, as the subject region from the input image, by the subject region detection means;

cutting the image of the subject region from the input image, by the cutting means;

calculating the priority of each of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image, by the priority calculation means;

retrieving the region similar to the image of the predetermined region with the top priority from among the priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut, by the retrieval means;

recovering the subject region by copying the image of the adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieving and includes the region corresponding to the region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region, by the recovering; and

combining the image of the subject region cut by the cutting with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovering, by the composition means.

7. An image processing device comprising:

a subject region detector configured to detect a region, where a subject is present, as a subject region from an input image;

a cutting unit configured to cut an image of the subject region from the input image;

a priority calculator configured to calculate a priority of each of predetermined regions on a boundary with respect to the subject region, for the input image;

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve a region similar to an image of a predetermined region with a top priority from among the priorities of the predetermined regions on the boundary with respect to the subject region, from the input image after the image of the subject region is cut;

a recovery unit configured to recover the subject region by copying an image of an adjacent region that is adjacent to the region similar to the predetermined region retrieved by the retrieval unit and includes a region corresponding to a region cut as the subject region, and by pasting the image obtained by copying the adjacent region onto the region that is adjacent to the predetermined region with the top priority and cut as the subject region; and

a composition unit configured to combine the image of the subject region cut by the cutting unit with the image with the subject region recovered by the recovery unit.