Positional Sensor-Assisted Image Registration for Panoramic Photography
First Claim
1. An image registration method, comprising:
- obtaining positional information from a device;
obtaining first and second images from the device;
aligning a plurality of regions in the first image with a corresponding plurality of regions in the second image to identify a plurality of corresponding regions;
determining a search vector for each of the plurality of corresponding regions;
selecting only those corresponding regions from the plurality of corresponding regions having a search vector consistent with the positional information to identify a plurality of consistent regions; and
registering the first and second images using the plurality of consistent regions.
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Abstract
This disclosure pertains to devices, methods, and computer readable media for performing positional sensor-assisted panoramic photography techniques in handheld personal electronic devices. Generalized steps that may be used to carry out the panoramic photography techniques described herein include, but are not necessarily limited to: 1.) acquiring image data from the electronic device'"'"'s image sensor; 2.) performing “motion filtering” on the acquired image data, e.g., using information returned from positional sensors of the electronic device to inform the processing of the image data; 3.) performing image registration between adjacent captured images; 4.) performing geometric corrections on captured image data, e.g., due to perspective changes and/or camera rotation about a non-center of perspective (COP) camera point; and 5.) “stitching” the captured images together to create the panoramic scene, e.g., blending the image data in the overlap area between adjacent captured images. The resultant stitched panoramic image may be cropped before final storage.
168 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An image registration method, comprising:
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obtaining positional information from a device; obtaining first and second images from the device; aligning a plurality of regions in the first image with a corresponding plurality of regions in the second image to identify a plurality of corresponding regions; determining a search vector for each of the plurality of corresponding regions; selecting only those corresponding regions from the plurality of corresponding regions having a search vector consistent with the positional information to identify a plurality of consistent regions; and registering the first and second images using the plurality of consistent regions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An image registration method, comprising:
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receiving a first image captured by a device; receiving device movement data from one or more positional sensors; receiving a second image captured by a device; and performing image registration on the second image using the device movement data and the first image, wherein the device movement data provides a search vector used in the act of performing image registration, and wherein the second image is captured by the device at a later point in time than the first image. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25)
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18. The method of dam 14, wherein the act of receiving device movement data from one or more positional sensors comprises obtaining information from a gyrometer in the device.
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20. The method of dam 14, wherein the device movement data further provides a search vector for each of a plurality of regions comprising the second image.
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21. The method of dam 20, wherein each search vector is indicative of a direction that a feature or intensity pattern in the first image would need to move to align with the corresponding feature or intensity pattern in the second image.
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22. The method of dam 21, wherein the act of performing image registration comprises discarding those regions from the plurality of regions comprising the second image having a search vector opposed to or substantially opposed to a direction of movement indicated by the received device movement data.
Specification