Merging images to form a panoramic image

• US 7,386,188 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2006
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Peterson, John
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, KANJIBHAI B
• Application Number:
  US11/498,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20060291747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 382/173, 382/284, 382293-295, 345/418, 345/419, 345/629, 345/672, 345/678, 345/683, 348/36, 348/42, 348/218.1
• US Class Current: 382/284
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for merging images of segments of a view. Methods include: receiving, from a network, a first image representing a first segment of the view and a second image representing a second segment of the view; determining the position of the second segment of the view relative to the first segment of the view; blending the first image with the second image based on the determined position of the second segment relative to the first segment to form a panoramic image of the view; and transmitting the panoramic image over the network.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a user interface device; and

one or more computers operable to interact with the user interface device and to perform operations to;

receive a first image representing a first segment of the view and a second image representing a second segment of the view;

determine the position of the second segment of the view relative to the first segment of the view without the aid of positioning information provided by a human operator; and

blend the first image with the second image based solely on the content of the images and the determined position of the second segment relative to the first segment to merge the first image and the second image into a panoramic image of the view, wherein the operations to blend comprise operations to;

divide the second image into a first portion and a second portion based on the position of the second segment relative to the first segment; and

composite the first portion of the second image on the first image at a relative position of the second segment relative to the first segment to produce the panoramic image, the compositing of the first portion of the second image causing the first portion to mask out a part of the first image.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computers comprise a server operable to interact with the user interface device through a data communication network, and the user interface device is operable to interact with the server as a client.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the user interface device comprises a personal computer running a web browser, a personal digital assistant, or other computing device running a browser application.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computers comprises one personal computer, and the personal computer includes the user interface device.

5. A system for merging a set of images, each image representing a corresponding segment of a view, the set including a first image representing a first segment of the view, a second image representing a second segment of the view, and a third image representing a third segment of the view, where the third segment of the view overlaps both the first segment and the second segment of the view, the system comprising:

a user interface device; and

one or more computers operable to interact with the user interface device and to;

determine a first relative position of the third segment relative to the first segment of the view by processing the content of the third image and the first image;

determine a first overlap area of the first image and the third image based on the determined first relative position;

determine a second relative position of the third segment relative to the second segment of the view by processing the content of the third image and the second image;

determine a second overlap area of the second image and the third image based on the determined second relative position; and

if the first overlap area is greater than the second overlap area, offset the position of the third image relative to the first image and the second image based on the determined first relative position, and otherwise, offset the position of the third image relative to the first image and the second image based on the determined second relative position.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more computers comprise a server operable to interact with the user interface device through a data communication network, and the user interface device is operable to interact with the server as a client.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the user interface device comprises a personal computer running a web browser, a personal digital assistant, or other computing device running a browser application.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more computers comprises one personal computer, and the personal computer includes the user interface device.

9. A method of merging images of segments of a view, comprising:

receiving a first image representing a first segment of the view at a server;

receiving a second image representing a second segment of the view at the server without the server receiving any information about the position of the second segment relative to the first segment;

receiving commands sent from a client to merge the first image and the second image into a panoramic image of the view;

determining the position of the second segment of the view relative to the first segment of the view without the aid of positioning information provided by a human operator;

blending the first image with the second image based solely on the content of the images and the determined position of the second segment relative to the first segment to merge the first image and the second image into a panoramic image of the view, wherein the blending comprises;

dividing the second image into a first portion and a second portion based on the position of the second segment relative to the first segment; and

compositing the first portion of the second image on the first image at a relative position of the second segment relative to the first segment to produce the panoramic image, the compositing of the first portion of the second image causing the first portion to mask out a part of the first image.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting a panoramic image of the view to the client, the panoramic image being a composite of the first image and the second image.