METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING A HIGH-RESOLUTION VIDEO STREAM

• US 20150324952A1
• Filed: 06/24/2013
• Published: 11/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Macq, Jean-Francois, Rondao Alface, Patrice, Verzijp, Nico, Six, Erwin, Namboodiri, Vinay
• Application Number:
  US14/410,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20150324952A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4053 based on super-resolution, i.e. the output image resolution being higher than the sensor resolution

Abstract

A process for generating a high-resolution video stream, the process comprising: receiving (310) a low-resolution video stream; receiving (320) at least one high-resolution video stream; selecting (331) first image patches from said at least one high-resolution video stream; generating (332) respective first low-resolution counterparts of said first high-resolution image patches; storing (333) said first high-resolution image patches indexed by said first low-resolution counterparts in a first data storage; and improving (350) said low-resolution video stream by substituting (351) portions of said low-resolution video stream that are similar to one or more of said first low-resolution counterparts with first high-resolution patches obtained from said first data storage in accordance with said indexing; wherein said low-resolution video stream and said at least one high-resolution video stream are substantially synchronized video streams.

Claims

1. A process for generating a high-resolution video stream, the process comprising:

receiving a low-resolution video stream;

receiving at least one high-resolution video stream;

selecting first image patches from said at least one high-resolution video stream;

generating respective first low-resolution counterparts of said first high-resolution image patches;

storing said first high-resolution image patches indexed by said first low-resolution counterparts in a first data storage; and

improving said low-resolution video stream by substituting portions of said low-resolution video stream that are similar to one or more of said first low-resolution counterparts with first high-resolution patches obtained from said first data storage in accordance with said indexing;

wherein said low-resolution video stream and said at least one high-resolution video stream are substantially synchronized video streams.

2. The process according to claim 1, applied in conjunction with a second data storage comprising pre-stored second high-resolution image patches indexed by second low-resolution counterparts, the process further comprising substituting portions of said low-resolution video stream that are similar to one or more of said second low-resolution counterparts with second high-resolution patches obtained from said second data storage in accordance with its indexing.

3. The process according to claim 1, wherein said storing of said first high-resolution image patches comprises according an expiration time to said high-resolution image patches, the process further comprising deactivating said first high-resolution image patches in accordance with said expiration time.

4. The process according to claim 1, wherein said improving of said low-resolution video stream comprises determining a similarity with said one or more of said first low-resolution counterparts by applying a “

nearest neighbor”

criterion, and wherein said substituting with first high-resolution patches comprises substituting with a weighted sum of the respective first high-resolution patches corresponding to the low-resolution counterparts that meet said “

nearest neighbor”

criterion.

5. The process according to claim 1, wherein said similarity is determined on the basis of intensity gradients.

6. A computer program comprising software means configured to perform, when executed the method of claim 1.

8. The system according to claim 6, further comprising a second data storage, said second data storage comprising pre-stored second high-resolution image patches indexed by second low-resolution counterparts, wherein said image improvement processor is further configured to substitute portions of said low-resolution video stream that are similar to one or more of said second low-resolution counterparts with second high-resolution patches obtained from said second data storage in accordance with its indexing.

7. A system for generating a high-resolution video stream, the system comprising:

a first video interface for receiving a low-resolution video stream;

a second video interface for receiving at least one high-resolution video stream;

a registration processor, operatively connected to said second video interface and to a first data storage, said registration processor being configured to select first high-resolution image patches from said at least one high-resolution video stream, to generate respective first low-resolution counterparts of

said first high-resolution image patches, and to store said first high-resolution image patches indexed by said first low-resolution counterparts in said data storage; and

an image improvement processor, operatively connected to said first video interface and to said

first data storage, said image improvement processor being configured to substitute portions of said low-resolution video stream that are similar to one or more of said first low-resolution counterparts with first high-resolution patches obtained from said first data storage

in accordance with said indexing;

wherein said low-resolution video stream and said at least one high-resolution video stream are substantially synchronized.

9. The system according to claim 7, further comprising a timer, operatively connected to said registration processor, wherein said registration processor is further configured to accord an expiration time to said first high-resolution image patches, and to deactivate said first high-resolution image patches in accordance with said expiration time in conjunction with said timer.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein said image improvement processor is further configured to determine a similarity with said one or more of said first low-resolution counterparts by applying a “

nearest neighbor”

criterion, and to substitute said portions with a weighted sum of the respective first high-resolution patches corresponding to the low-resolution counterparts that meet said “

nearest neighbor”

criterion.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein said image improvement processor is further configured to determine said similarity on the basis of intensity gradients.