Method and apparatus for image matching
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method of matching picture elements between at least a first image and a second image each comprising a plurality of picture elements, the method comprising the steps of:
- using at least one computer with accessible input/output to perform the following;
selecting a first picture element within the first image to be matched within the second image, said first and second images being respective images of a stereo image pair;
constructing a first sequence of connected picture elements within the first image, the sequence including the first picture element, wherein each picture element within the sequence possesses one or more intensity or chrominance characteristics most similar to the first picture element than other surrounding picture elements; and
searching the picture elements of the second image using the constructed sequence as a matching element to find a substantially corresponding picture element within the second image to the first picture element,wherein the constructing step comprises searching the picture elements in a first direction from the first picture element to determine a first chain of connected picture elements to form part of the first sequence, and searching the picture elements in a second direction, substantially opposite to the first direction, to determine a second chain of connected picture elements to form part of the first sequence, andthe first chain of connected picture elements and the second chain of connected picture elements form a sequence of at least three picture elements that are substantially in a line.
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Abstract
The invention provides a method and apparatus for performing correspondence estimation between pixels of a stereo image pair to obtain matching information for corresponding pixels in each image. To perform a match for a particular pixel in a first image firstly an adaptive curve is constructed about the pixel, being a sequence of connected pixels with similar intensity values to the pixel being matched. The adaptive curve thus constructed is then used as a matching element within the second image to find a matching pixel representative of the same 3D scene point in the second image to the particular pixel. By performing matching in this manner for every pixel in an image, accurate disparity maps can be obtained which are then used in a known image synthesis algorithm to produce novel images of a scene of improved quality.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of matching picture elements between at least a first image and a second image each comprising a plurality of picture elements, the method comprising the steps of:
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using at least one computer with accessible input/output to perform the following; selecting a first picture element within the first image to be matched within the second image, said first and second images being respective images of a stereo image pair; constructing a first sequence of connected picture elements within the first image, the sequence including the first picture element, wherein each picture element within the sequence possesses one or more intensity or chrominance characteristics most similar to the first picture element than other surrounding picture elements; and searching the picture elements of the second image using the constructed sequence as a matching element to find a substantially corresponding picture element within the second image to the first picture element, wherein the constructing step comprises searching the picture elements in a first direction from the first picture element to determine a first chain of connected picture elements to form part of the first sequence, and searching the picture elements in a second direction, substantially opposite to the first direction, to determine a second chain of connected picture elements to form part of the first sequence, and the first chain of connected picture elements and the second chain of connected picture elements form a sequence of at least three picture elements that are substantially in a line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 39)
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20. An apparatus for matching picture elements between at least a first image and a second image each comprising a plurality of picture elements, comprising:
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element selecting means for selecting a first picture element within the first image to be matched within the second image said first and second images being respective images of a stereo image pair; sequence construction means for constructing a first sequence of connected picture elements within the first image and including the first picture element, wherein each picture element within the sequence possesses one or more intensity or chrominance characteristics most similar to the first picture element than other surrounding picture elements; and image searching means for searching the picture elements of the second image using the constructed sequence as a matching element to find a substantially corresponding picture element within the second image to the first picture element; wherein the constructing means is arranged to search the picture elements in a first direction from the first picture element to determine a first chain of connected picture elements to form part of the first sequence, and searching the picture elements in a second direction, substantially opposite to the first direction, to determine a second chain of connected picture elements to form part of the first sequence, and the first chain of connected picture elements and the second chain of connected picture elements form a sequence of at least three picture dements that are substantially in a line. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification