System and method for progressive stereo matching of digital images
First Claim
1. A method of correlating pixels between a first and a second digital image, comprising:
- defining a first correlation window around a first candidate pixel in the first digital image and a second correlation window around a second candidate pixel in the second digital image;
determining a first epipolar line for the first digital image and a second epipolar line for the second digital image;
rotating the first correlation window to align with the first epipolar line and the second correlation window to align with the second epipolar line; and
determining a correlation between the first candidate pixel contained in the first correlation window and the second candidate pixel contained in the second correlation window.
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Abstract
Method and a system for correlating pixels between two digital images. In general, the present invention uses a progressive iterative technique that finds generally unambiguous pixel matches by beginning with a few reliable pixel matches and finding progressively more unambiguous pixel matches. Unambiguous pixel matches in the current iteration then are found using the correlation technique and based on a correlation score associated with a pixel match. The search range is capable of being rotated, and is part of a novel correlation technique of the present invention that provides a more robust estimate of pixel match reliability. Potential pixel matches found in the search ranges are tested for ambiguity and any unambiguous matches are selected and added to the set of reliable pixel matches. The ambiguity testing includes determining a correlation score for the pixel match and classifying the match based on the correlation score.
17 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of correlating pixels between a first and a second digital image, comprising:
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defining a first correlation window around a first candidate pixel in the first digital image and a second correlation window around a second candidate pixel in the second digital image; determining a first epipolar line for the first digital image and a second epipolar line for the second digital image; rotating the first correlation window to align with the first epipolar line and the second correlation window to align with the second epipolar line; and determining a correlation between the first candidate pixel contained in the first correlation window and the second candidate pixel contained in the second correlation window. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer-implemented process for correlating a pixel in a first image to a pixel in a second image, comprising:
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a definition step for defining a first correlation window within the first image and a second correlation window within the second image, wherein the first correlation window is aligned with a first epipolar line in the first image; a rotation step for rotating the second correlation window parallel to a second epipolar line in the second image; and a computation step for computing a correlation score using the first and second correlation windows representing a correlation between the pixel in the first image and the pixel in the second image. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for correlating a pixel mi in a first image with a pixel m′
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i in a second image, comprising;
selecting a first pixel m in the first image and a second pixel m′
in the second image;drawing a corresponding first epipolar line l through the first pixel m and a second epipolar line l′
through the second pixel m′
; andcomputing a correlation score between pixel mi and pixel m′
i using the first pixel m, the second pixel m′
, the first epipolar line l and the second epipolar line l′
. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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i in a second image, comprising;
Specification