Image input method, image input apparatus, and recording medium

• US 6,587,597 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1999
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nakao, Toshiyasu, Kashitani, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jayanti K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kassa, Yosef
• Application Number:
  US09/448,948
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 382/174, 382/190, 382/195, 382/206, 382/216, 382/269, 382/282, 382/284, 382/287, 382/288, 382/289, 382/291, 382/293, 382/294, 382/296, 382/297, 382/302, 348/47, 348/50, 348/64, 348/139, 396/30, 396/324, 396/326, 358/450, 358/453
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

When compositing a plurality of acquired partial images, the effects of differences in viewpoint contained in the partial images can be reduced, and a high quality wide-viewfield image is inputted. An image input apparatus for photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface, and inputting the composite image, wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism 009, which employs the rotational center of the camera as the center of projection during the compositing of the plurality of partial images, and which employs, as the projection point of a pixel of a partial image, the intersection point between the projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting the viewpoint of the camera and the pixel in the partial image in an image plane formed by the plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of the camera.

Claims

1. An image input method for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while changing the photographing direction by rotating a camera which is supported in a rotatable manner, projecting the plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed acquired in this manner onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image plane,

wherein, during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, the center of rotation of said camera is used as the center of the projection, and the intersection point between said projection surface established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and a pixel in a partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera, is employed as the projection point of said pixel in said partial image.

2. An image input method for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the range of photography in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which were acquired onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface,

wherein the rotational center of said mirror is made the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, and the point of intersection between the projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating the reflected light ray which results when a light ray from the viewpoint of said camera which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by said partial images is reflected by said mirror, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, is employed as the projection point of said partial image.

3. An image input method for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the direction of photography by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are acquired,

wherein a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point on a projection surface is determined from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images acquired and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting said point on said image plane established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera.

4. An image input method for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface is determined from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line indicating a reflected light beam resulting from a reflection by said mirror of a straight line connecting a point on said projection surface which is established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said mirror, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera.

5. An image input method for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera which is supported in a rotatable manner, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism, which employs the rotational center of said camera as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, and which employs, as the projection point of a pixel of a partial image, the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and said pixel in said partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera.

6. An image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera mounted in a rotatable manner, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed obtained into a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface, wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for setting the rotational center of said camera as a center of projection;

determining a projection point so that an intersection point between a projection surface established in space and a straight line, which is parallel with a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and a pixel in a partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera, is employed as said projection point of said pixel in said partial image, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

7. An image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera mounted in a rotatable manner, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed obtained into a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface, wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using said camera posture data from the time at which the partial images were obtained, and the positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained by the positioning mechanism, and in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, setting the rotational center of said camera as a center of projection, determining a projection point so that an intersection point between a projection surface established in space and a straight line, which is parallel with a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and a pixel in a partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera, is employed as said projection point of said pixel in said partial image, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

8. An image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while changing the range of photography in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface,

wherein an image compositing mechanism is provided which uses the rotational center of said mirror as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, and which employs the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating a reflected beam of light resulting from the reflection by said mirror of a light beam from the viewpoint of said camera which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by the partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, as the projection point of said partial image.

9. An image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while changing the range of photography in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface, wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism which uses the rotational center of said mirror as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, and which determines a projection point such that the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating a reflected beam of light resulting from the reflection by said mirror of a light beam from the viewpoint of said camera which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by the partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, is employed as the projection point of said pixel of said partial image, and which composites said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and stores a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

10. An image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while changing the range of photography in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface, wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using said camera posture data from the time at which the partial images were obtained, and the positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained by the positioning mechanism, and in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, setting the rotational center of said mirror as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, determining a projection point such that the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating a reflected beam of light resulting from the reflection by said mirror of a light beam from the viewpoint of said camera which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by the partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, is employed as the projection point of said pixel of said partial image, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

11. An image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the direction of photography by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing the plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are acquired,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point on a projection surface from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images acquired and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting said point on said image plane established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera.

12. An image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the direction of photography by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing the plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are acquired, wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point on said projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images obtained and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting a point in said projection surface established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images with the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

13. An image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the direction of photography by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing the plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are acquired, wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using said camera posture data from the time at which the partial images were obtained, and the positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained by the positioning mechanism, and in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point on said projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images obtained and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting a point in said projection surface established in space with the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

14. An image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line indicating a reflected light beam resulting from a reflection by said mirror of a straight line connecting a point on said projection surface which is established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said mirror, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera.

15. An image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained, wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line indicating a reflected light beam resulting from a reflection by said mirror of a straight line connecting a point on said projection surface which is established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said mirror, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

16. An image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range in the field to be photographed of a camera by rotating a mirror which is supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained, wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using the posture data of the camera at the time of acquisition of said partial images stored in said second storage mechanism and said positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained from said positioning mechanism, and, in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in said projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line showing a reflected light beam resulting from the reflection by said mirror of a straight line connecting a point in said projection surface established in space and the rotational center of said mirror, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

17. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera which is supported in a rotatable manner, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism, which employs the rotational center of said camera as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, and which employs, as the projection point of a pixel of a partial image, the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and said pixel in said partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera.

18. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera which is supported in a rotatable manner, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface,

wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for setting the rotational center of said camera as a center of projection, determining a projection point so that an intersection point between a projection surface established in space and a straight line, which is parallel with a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and a pixel in a partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera, is employed as said projection point of said pixel in said partial image, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

19. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting wide-viewfield composite images by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera which is supported in a rotatable manner, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed which are obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image surface,

wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining partial image compositing positions using said camera posture data obtained at the time of acquisition of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism and said positional correction amounts determined by said positioning mechanism, and in accordance with the compositing positions determined, setting the center of projection to the center of rotation of the camera, and determining the projection point such that the projection point of a pixel in a partial image is set to the intersection point between said projection surface established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting the viewpoint of said camera and said pixel in said partial image in an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said camera, and composites said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and stores a resulting composite image in said first storage mechanism.

20. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range of a camera in the field to be photographed by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image plane,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism for setting the rotational center of said mirror during the compositing of said plurality of partial images to the center of projection, and setting the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating the reflected light beam resulting when a light beam from the viewpoint of said camera and which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by partial images is reflected by said mirror, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, as the projection point of said partial image.

21. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range of a camera in the field to be photographed by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image plane,

wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism which uses the rotational center of said mirror as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, and which determines a projection point such that the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating a reflected beam of light resulting from the reflection by said mirror of a light beam from the viewpoint of said camera which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by the partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, is employed as the projection point of said pixel of said partial image, and which composites said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and stores a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

22. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range of a camera in the field to be photographed by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, projecting a plurality of partial images of said field to be photographed obtained onto a projection surface, and based on the results of this projection, conducting compositing on a composite image plane,

wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using the posture data of the camera at the time of acquisition of said partial images stored in said second storage mechanism and said positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained from said positioning mechanism, and, in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, setting the rotational center of said mirror as the center of projection during the compositing of said plurality of partial images, determining a projection point such that the intersection point between said projection surface which is established in space and a straight line, which is parallel to a reflection straight line indicating a reflected beam of light resulting from the reflection by said mirror of a light beam from the viewpoint of said camera which passes through a pixel of a partial image in an image plane formed by the partial images, and which passes through the rotational center of said mirror, is employed as the projection point of said pixel of said partial image, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing a composite image in said first storage mechanism.

23. A computer-readable recording medium for storing a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism which determines a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting said point in said projection surface established in space during the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera.

24. A computer-readable recording medium for storing a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point on said projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images obtained and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting a point in said projection surface established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images with the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

25. A computer-readable recording medium for storing a program for executing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic direction by rotating a camera supported in a rotatable manner, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein are provided:

a camera movement mechanism for changing the photographic direction of said camera;

a posture control mechanism for directing said camera movement mechanism so as to change the photographic direction of said camera and for transmitting camera posture data to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and camera posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said camera received from said posture control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using the posture data of the camera at the time of acquisition of said partial images stored in said second storage mechanism and said positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained from said positioning mechanism, and, in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point on said projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said plurality of partial images obtained and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line connecting a point in said projection surface established in space with the rotational center of said camera, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

26. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a program for realizing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range of a camera in the field to be photographed by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein is provided an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface from the intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line indicating the reflected light beam resulting from the reflection of a straight line connecting said point in said projection surface which is established in space during the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said mirror, and passes through the viewpoint of said camera.

27. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a program for realizing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range of a camera in the field to be photographed by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line indicating a reflected light beam resulting from a reflection by said mirror of a straight line connecting a point on said projection surface which is established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said mirror, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

28. A computer-readable recording medium which stores a program for realizing the functions of an image input apparatus for inputting a wide-viewfield composite image by photographing parts of a field to be photographed while altering the photographic range of a camera in the field to be photographed by rotating a mirror supported in a rotatable manner before said camera, and compositing a plurality of partial images of the field to be photographed which are obtained,

wherein are provided:

a mirror movement mechanism for altering the direction of said mirror so as to change the photographic direction of said camera;

a mirror control mechanism for directing said mirror movement mechanism so as to change the orientation of said mirror and for transmitting posture data of said mirror to all parts;

a first storage mechanism for storing partial images and composite images produced by compositing said partial images;

a second storage mechanism for storing attribute data related to partial images and composite images and said mirror posture data from partial image acquisition;

a partial image acquisition mechanism for incorporating images photographed by said camera and acquiring partial images from these incorporated images, and storing said partial images in said first storage mechanism, and for storing posture data from the acquisition of said partial images of said mirror received from said mirror control mechanism, and attribute data relating to said partial images and composite images, in said second storage mechanism;

a positioning mechanism for determining positional relationships between partial images stored in said first storage mechanism, determining positional correction amounts of the composited positions of the partial images stored in said second storage mechanism based on the positional relationships obtained, and storing these in said second storage mechanism; and

an image compositing mechanism for determining compositing positions of the partial images using the posture data of the camera at the time of acquisition of said partial images stored in said second storage mechanism and said positional correction amounts of the compositing positions obtained from said positioning mechanism, and, in accordance with the compositing positions obtained, determining a pixel on a composite image surface corresponding to a point in a projection surface from an intersection point between an image plane formed by said partial images and a straight line, which is parallel to a straight line indicating a reflected light beam resulting from a reflection by said mirror of a straight line connecting a point on said projection surface which is established in space at the time of the compositing of said plurality of partial images and the rotational center of said mirror, and which passes through the viewpoint of said camera, compositing said partial images with reference to the contents of said first and second storage mechanisms, and storing the composite image in said first storage mechanism.

29. An image input apparatus which is provided with a camera which photographs a field to be photographed, a mirror which is disposed in front of said camera in order to alter the optical path of the reflected light from the field to be photographed in the direction of the camera lens of said camera, a mirror rotation mechanism for rotating said mirror about the optical axis of said camera, and a processing mechanism for compositing a plurality of images inputted from said camera in accordance with the rotation of said mirror and producing a wide view angle image, wherein

said mirror is a triangular columnar mirror in which two of the side surfaces are reflective surfaces,

said camera takes photographs using reflected light from the objects to be photographed, the optical path of which is changed by said two reflective surfaces of said mirror, and

said processing mechanism separates a plurality of images photographed by said camera in accordance with the reflective surfaces of said mirror and conducts independent image composition.

30. An image input apparatus in accordance with claim 29, wherein said processing mechanism is provided with:

an image acquisition mechanism which acquires images photographed by said camera and digitizes these,

an image separation mechanism which separates the images acquired and digitized by said image acquisition mechanism and separates these according to said two reflective surfaces of said mirror,

a first image compositing mechanism which composites the images separated by said image separation mechanism in accordance with a first reflective surface among said two reflective surfaces of said mirror,

a second image compositing mechanism, which composites images separated by said image separation mechanism in accordance with a second reflective surface among said two reflective surfaces of said mirror, and

an image updating mechanism, which conducts updating by overwriting images composited by said first and second image compositing mechanisms onto a wide-viewfield image.

31. An image input apparatus which is provided with:

first and second cameras which are disposed so that the optical axes of the camera lens thereof are in agreement and they are in mutual opposition and which photograph a field to be photographed,

a double-sided mirror, which is disposed between said first and second cameras and which alters the optical path of light reflected from the field to be photographed in the direction of the camera lens of the first and second camera,

a mirror rotation mechanism for rotating said double-sided mirror about the optical axes of said first and second cameras, and

a processing mechanism for compositing a plurality of images inputted from said first and second cameras in accordance with the rotation of said mirror and producing a wide view angle image.

32. An image input apparatus in accordance with claim 31, wherein said processing mechanism comprises:

a first image acquisition mechanism for acquiring images photographed by said first camera which photographs reflected light from a first reflective surface of said double-sided mirror, and digitizes these images,

a second image acquisition mechanism for acquiring images photographed by said second camera which photographs light reflected from a second reflective surface of said double-sided mirror and digitizes these images,

a first image compositing mechanism for compositing images digitized by said first image acquisition mechanism,

a second image compositing mechanism for compositing images digitized by said second image acquisition mechanism, and

an image updating mechanism for conducting updating by overwriting images composited by said first and second image compositing mechanisms onto a wide-viewfield image.