IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20120127163A1
• Filed: 09/09/2011
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KIM, Shin-haeng, HAN, Seung-hoon, SOHN, Young-wook
• Application Number:
  US13/229,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20120127163A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/80 Geometric correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/139 Format conversion, e.g. of frame-rate or size
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0081 Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0085 Motion estimation from stereoscopic image signals

Abstract

An image processing apparatus and an image processing method are provided. The image processing apparatus includes an image receiver which receives a plurality of image frames each including a first image and a second image respectively corresponding to a first eye and a second eye of a user, and an image processor which detects a pixel of the second image corresponding to at least one pixel of the first image and updates the first image based on information about the detected pixel of the second image.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an image receiver which receives a plurality of image frames, each of the plurality of image frames comprising a first image and a second image respectively corresponding to a first eye and a second eye of a user; and

an image processor which detects a pixel of the second image corresponding to at least one pixel of the first image, and updates the first image based on information about the pixel of the second image.

2. The image processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second image corresponds to at least one of a second image of a first image frame among the plurality of image frames, and a second image of a second image frame among the plurality of image frames which has a time difference with respect to the first image frame.

3. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the image processor detects a pixel of a first image of the second image frame corresponding to at least one pixel of a first image in the first image frame, and updates an image signal based on information of the detected pixel of the first image.

4. The image processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the image processor comprises a frame rate conversion unit which generates an interpolated image frame by performing motion estimation and motion compensation on the plurality of image frames, and generates the interpolated image frame based on the information about the detected pixel of the first image and the information about the detected pixel of the second image.

5. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the image processor detects an image distorted area of the first image in the first image frame, detects a pixel area corresponding to the image distorted area from the second image, and updates the image distorted area based on image data of the detected pixel area.

6. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image processor detects a pixel area corresponding to the image distorted area from the first image in the second image frame and updates the image distorted area based on image data of the detected pixel area.

7. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image distorted area is formed on a boundary area between a first object and a background in the first image.

8. The image processing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the image processor detects a discontinuous boundary between the updated image distorted area and the background in the first image and performs image filtering to substantially eliminate the detected discontinuous boundary.

9. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image processor compares pixel values of the first image where the image distorted area is updated and the second image in the first image frame, and adjusts at least one of the pixel values of the first image and the second image so that a difference between the pixel values of the first image and the second image is within a range.

10. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image processor updates at least one of a brightness value, a color value, and a contrast value between the first image and the second image.

11. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image processor detects a pixel area corresponding to the image distorted area from one of the second image of the first image frame, the first image of the second image frame, and the second image of the second image frame based on a disparity between the first image of the first image frame and the second image of the first image frame, and updates the image distorted area based on image data of the detected pixel area.

12. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second image frame comprises a second object that is substantially the same as a first object in the first image frame, and the image processor determines whether the image data of the detected pixel area corresponds to the image distorted area based on extraction of a motion vector.

13. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image distorted area of the first image appears when a first object changes in position based on a change of a depth value of the first object in the first image frame.

14. The image processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image processor generates a first image and a second image with respect to the first image frame based on a disparity when an image signal received by the image receiver corresponds to a two-dimensional (2D) image, and the image distorted area of the first image appears by a positional change of a first object based on the disparity.

15. The image processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the image processor calculates a disparity between the first image and the second image and detects a pixel of the second image corresponding to the at least one pixel of the first image based on the disparity.

16. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the image processor detects a common object respectively from the first image and the second image of the first image frame and calculates a difference between pixel values based on a position of the common object in the first image and the second image as the disparity.

17. The image processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the image processor receives the disparity from an external source.

18. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an image receiver which receives a plurality of image frames, each of the plurality of image frames comprising a first image and a second image respectively corresponding to a first eye and a second eye of a user; and

an image processor comprising a frame rate conversion unit which generates an interpolated image frame by motion estimation and motion compensation on the plurality of image frames, calculates a motion vector between the first image and the second image, and generates the interpolated image frame based on the calculated motion vector.

19. The image processing apparatus of claim 18, wherein the image processor detects a disparity between the first image and the second image, and generates the interpolated image frame based on the detected disparity.

20. The image processing apparatus of claim 18, wherein the second image corresponds to at least one of a second image in a first image frame among the plurality of image frames and a second image in a second image frame which has a time difference with respect to the first image frame.

21. The image processing apparatus of claim 20, wherein the image processor calculates a motion vector between a first image in the first image frame and a first image in the second image frame and generates the interpolated image frame, based on the calculated motion vector.

22. An image processing method comprising:

receiving a plurality of image frames each including a first image and a second image respectively corresponding to a first eye and a second eye of a user; and

detecting a pixel of the second image corresponding to at least one pixel of the first image, and updating the first image based on information about the pixel of the second image.

23. The image processing method of claim 22, wherein the second image corresponds to at least one of a second image of a first image frame among the plurality of image frames and a second image of a second image frame among the plurality of image frames which has a time difference with respect to the first image frame.

24. The image processing method of claim 23, wherein the updating the first image comprises detecting a pixel of a first image in the second image frame corresponding to at least one pixel of a first image in the first image frame, and updating an image signal based on information of the detected pixel of the first image in the second image frame.

25. The image processing method of claim 24, wherein the updating the first image comprises generating an interpolated image frame based on the information of the pixel of the first image and the information of the pixel of the second image when the interpolated image frame is generated by motion estimation and motion compensation on the plurality of image frames.

26. The image processing method of claim 23, wherein the updating the first image comprises detecting an image distorted area of the first image in the first image frame, detecting a pixel area corresponding to the image distorted area from the second image in the first image frame, and updating the image distorted area based on image data of the detected pixel area.

27. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the updating the image distorted area comprises detecting a pixel area corresponding to the image distorted area from the first image in the second image frame, and updating the image distorted area based on image data of the detected pixel area.

28. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the image distorted area is formed on a boundary area between a first object and a background in the first image.

29. The image processing method of claim 28, wherein the updating the image distorted area comprises detecting a discontinuous boundary between the updated image distorted area and the background in the first image, and performing image filtering to substantially eliminate the detected discontinuous boundary.

30. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the updating the image distorted area comprises comparing pixel values of the first image where the image distorted area is updated and the second image in the first image frame and adjusting at least one of the pixel values of the first image and the second image so that a difference between the pixel values of the first image and the second image is within a range.

31. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the updating the image distorted area comprises updating at least one of a brightness value, a color value, and a contrast value between the first image and the second image.

32. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the updating the image distorted area comprises detecting a pixel area corresponding to the image distorted area from one of the second image of the first image frame, the first image of the second image frame, and the second image of the second image frame based on a disparity between the first image of the first image frame and the second image of the first image frame, and updating the image distorted area based on image data of the detected pixel area.

33. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the second image frame comprises a second object that is substantially the same as a first object in the first image frame, and the updating the image distorted area comprises determining whether the image data of the detected pixel area corresponds to the image distorted area based on extraction of a motion vector.

34. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the image distorted area of the first image appears when a first object changes in position based on a change of a depth value of the first object in the first image frame.

35. The image processing method of claim 26, wherein the updating the image distorted area comprises generating a first image and a second image with respect to the first image frame based on a disparity when an image signal received by an image receiver corresponds to a two-dimensional (2D) image, and the image distorted area of the first image appears by a positional change of a first object based on the disparity.

36. The image processing method of claim 23, further comprising calculating a disparity between the first image and the second image and detecting a pixel of the second image corresponding to the at least one pixel of the first image based on the disparity.

37. The image processing method of claim 36, wherein the calculating the disparity between the first image and the second image comprises detecting a common object respectively from the first image and the second image of the first image frame and calculating a difference between pixel values based on a position of a first object in the first image and the second image as the disparity.

38. The image processing method of claim 36, wherein the calculating the disparity between the first image and the second image comprises receiving the disparity from an external source.

39. The image processing method of claim 23, wherein the updating the first image comprises calculating a motion estimation value between a first image in the first image frame and a first image in the second image frame and detecting the pixel of the second image corresponding to the at least one pixel of the first image based on the calculated motion estimation value.

40-45. -45. (canceled)