Minimizing dead zones in panoramic images

• US 7,782,357 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2004
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Cutler, Ross G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Philippe; Gims S
• Application Number:
  US11/026,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20050151837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,063 Days
• Field of Search: 352/69, 359/725, 348/14.08
• US Class Current: 348/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/12 Panospheric to cylindrical image transformations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display

Abstract

Techniques to minimize problems with dead zones associated with panoramic cameras are described. A dead zone is an area about a zero degree boundary where a three hundred and sixty degree panoramic image is split so that a two-dimensional panorama can be rendered. Redirection of the zero degree boundary to a position where no object appears is described that prevents an object located in the dead zone from being split between margins of the panorama. Another technique involves reproducing one or more portions of the image that appears at one margin adjacent to an opposite margin so that an object in the dead zone that would normally be split is reproduced in whole. The described techniques may be implemented in a panoramic camera endpoint device or in a client device remote from a camera. The techniques may be applied to live video or to previously recorded video.

Claims

1. A camera system comprising:

one or more cameras configured to produce an image of a wide area up to three hundred and sixty degrees (360.degree.);

means for determining a location of a zero degree boundary, where a two-dimensional image of the wide area produced by the camera system is divided by automatically determining a portion of the wide area in which no subject is located for the location of the zero degree boundary;

a remapping module configured to remap pixels from the camera image onto a panoramic space according to the zero degree boundary; and

wherein a panoramic image rendered from the panoramic space has a left margin and a right margin corresponding to the zero degree boundary.

2. The camera system as recited in claim 1, wherein the means for determining a location of a zero degree boundary further comprises a face tracker.

3. The camera system as recited in claim 1, wherein one or more of the non-camera elements are included in a client device.

4. The camera system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wide area further comprises a span of at least three hundred and sixty degrees (360.degree.).

5. The camera system as recited in claim 1, wherein the remapping module is further configured to duplicate a portion of the image taken by the camera so that the portion is included in the panoramic space two times.

6. A method, comprising:

receiving a panoramic image;

determining a location of a zero degree boundary with respect to the panoramic image; and

transforming the panoramic image with respect to the zero degree boundary to minimize a dead zone associated with the zero degree boundary to create a modified panoramic image.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the receiving step further comprises receiving the panoramic image in a video stream from a panoramic camera.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the receiving step further comprises receiving the panoramic image from an image storage location.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the determining step further comprises setting a zero degree indicator to indicate a location that does not include an object to be imaged.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the determining step further comprises automatically detecting an optimum location for the zero degree boundary, said optimum location being a location that does not include an object to be imaged.

11. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the determining step further comprises utilizing a face tracking mechanism to identify a location where no face is situated to be the location of the zero degree boundary.

12. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the transforming step further comprises duplicating at least one portion of the panoramic area in the panoramic image, said portion of the panoramic area being an area adjacent to the zero degree boundary.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising resizing the panoramic image to a normalized panoramic space.

14. One or more storage media containing processor executable instructions that, when executed, perform the following steps:

determining a location of a zero degree boundary with respect to the panoramic area by determining a location in which no subjects are located in the panoramic area;

receiving one or more images of a panoramic area;

mapping the one or more images onto a panoramic image so that the zero degree boundary is represented by at least one margin of the panoramic image.

15. The one or more storage media as recited in claim 14, wherein the determining step further comprises receiving an indication of the location of the zero degree boundary.

16. The one or more storage media as recited in claim 14, further comprising duplicating a portion of an image of the panoramic area located adjacent to the zero degree boundary in the panoramic image.

17. The one or more storage media as recited in claim 14, wherein:

the receiving step further comprises receiving a first panoramic image; and

the remapping step further comprises remapping the first panoramic image to a second panoramic image.

18. The one or more storage media as recited in claim 17, wherein the receiving step further comprises retrieving a stored panoramic image from memory.