METHOD FOR OBTAINING DEPTH INFORMATION AND APPARATUS USING THE SAME

• US 20120287249A1
• Filed: 05/14/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: KIM, Jin Woong, CHOO, Hyon Gon, CHOI, Jin Soo, KIM, Sung Hoon
• Application Number:
  US13/470,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20120287249A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/25 using two or more image sensors with different characteristics other than in their location or field of view, e.g. having different resolutions or colour pickup characteristics; using image signals from one sensor to control the characteristics of another sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2213/003 Aspects relating to the "2D+depth" image format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/45 for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images

Abstract

An apparatus of obtaining depth information is provided which includes a first sensor configured to obtain a first image, a second sensor configured to obtain a second image, an image information obtaining unit configured to obtain image information based on the first image and the second image, and a depth information obtaining unit configured to obtain depth information based on the image information, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor differ in type from each other.

Claims

1. An apparatus of obtaining depth information comprising:

a first sensor configured to obtain a first image;

a second sensor configured to obtain a second image;

an image information obtaining unit configured to obtain image information based on the first image and the second image; and

a depth information obtaining unit configured to obtain depth information based on the image information,

wherein the first sensor and the second sensor differ in type from each other.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is an IR(Infrared) sensor, and the second sensor is a visible light sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor controller configured to control the first sensor and the second sensor.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a depth information output unit configured to convert the depth information into 3-dimensional information and to output the 3-dimensional information.

5. A method of obtaining depth information, the method comprising:

obtaining a first image through a first sensor;

obtaining a second image through a second sensor different in type from the first sensor;

obtaining combined image information based on the first image and the second image; and

obtaining depth information based on the combined image information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein obtaining the combined image information includes,

determining a weight value for the first image based on reliability of the first image;

determining a weight value for the second image based on reliability of the second image; and

obtaining the combined image information based on the weight values for the first image and the second image.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the weight value for the first image is determined based on a frequency characteristic of the first image, and the weight value for the second image is determined based on a frequency characteristic of the second image.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the weight value for the first image is determined based on a statistical characteristic of the first image, and the weight value for the second image is determined based on a statistical characteristic of the second image.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the statistical characteristic of the first image is determined based on a distribution of the first image in a histogram for the first image, and the statistical characteristic of the second image is determined based on a distribution of the second image in a histogram for the second image.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the depth information is determined based on the histograms for the first image and the second image.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the first sensor is an IR sensor, and the second sensor is a visible light sensor, and wherein in a daytime the weight value for the first image is lower than the weight value for the second image, and at night, the weight value for the first image is higher than the weight for the second image.

12. A method of obtaining depth information, the method comprising:

obtaining a first image through a first sensor;

obtaining a second image through a second sensor different in type from the first sensor;

obtaining first image information based on the first image;

obtaining second image information based on the second image; and

obtaining depth information based on the first image and the second image information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining the depth information includes,

obtaining first depth information based on the first image information;

obtaining second depth information based on the second image information; and

obtaining final depth information based on the first depth information and the second depth information.