Foreground/background segmentation in digital images
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of distinguishing between foreground and background regions of a digital image of a scene, the method comprising:
- capturing first and second images of nominally the same scene, the first image being taken with the foreground more in focus than the background and the second image being taken with the background more in focus than the foreground;
storing the captured images in DCT-coded format;
assigning regions of the first image as foreground or background according to whether a difference between sums of selected higher order DCT coefficients for the first and second images is positive or negative; and
rendering in accordance with the assigning one or more processed images based on the first image or the second image, or both, at a digital rendering device, display or printer, or combinations thereof.
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Abstract
An implementation efficient method of distinguishing between foreground and background regions of a digital image of a scene includes capturing two images of nominally the same scene and storing the captured images in DCT-coded format. The first image is taken with the foreground more in focus than the background and the second image is taken with the background more in focus than the foreground. Regions of the first image are assigned as foreground or background according to whether the sum of selected higher order DCT coefficients decreases or increases for the equivalent regions of the second image.
153 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of distinguishing between foreground and background regions of a digital image of a scene, the method comprising:
- capturing first and second images of nominally the same scene, the first image being taken with the foreground more in focus than the background and the second image being taken with the background more in focus than the foreground;
storing the captured images in DCT-coded format;
assigning regions of the first image as foreground or background according to whether a difference between sums of selected higher order DCT coefficients for the first and second images is positive or negative; and
rendering in accordance with the assigning one or more processed images based on the first image or the second image, or both, at a digital rendering device, display or printer, or combinations thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- capturing first and second images of nominally the same scene, the first image being taken with the foreground more in focus than the background and the second image being taken with the background more in focus than the foreground;
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14. An image acquisition apparatus, comprising:
- including an imaging optical system; and
a digital image detector;
a processor; and
a non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium having stored therein program instructions for programming the processor to perform a method of distinguishing between foreground and background regions of a digital image of a scene, wherein the program instructions stored in the storage medium are configured to program the apparatus to capture first and second images of nominally the same scene, the first image being taken with the foreground more in focus than the background and the second image being taken with the background more in focus than the foreground; and
to store the captured images in DCT-coded format; and
to assign one or more regions of one or both of the first and second images as foreground or background according to whether a difference between sums of selected higher order DCT coefficients for the first and second images is positive or negative. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
- including an imaging optical system; and
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28. One or more non-transitory processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied thereon, said processor readable code for programming one or more processors to perform a method of distinguishing between foreground and background regions of a digital image of a scene, wherein the processor-readable code is configured to program the one or more processors to capture first and second images of nominally the same scene, the first image being taken with the foreground more in focus than the background and the second image being taken with the background more in focus than the foreground;
- and to store the captured images in DCT-coded format; and
to assign regions of one or both of the first and second image as foreground or background according to whether a difference between one or more selected higher order DCT coefficients for equivalent regions of the first and second image is positive or negative. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
- and to store the captured images in DCT-coded format; and
Specification