Systems and methods for parallax detection and correction in images captured using array cameras that contain occlusions using subsets of images to perform depth estimation
First Claim
1. A method of estimating distances to objects within a scene from a light field comprising a set of images captured from different viewpoints using a processor configured by an image processing application, the method comprising:
- selecting a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints;
normalizing the set of images to increase the similarity of corresponding pixels within the set of images;
determining initial depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using at least a subset of the set of images, where an initial depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint is determined by;
identifying pixels in the at least a subset of the set of images that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths;
comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; and
selecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as an initial depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint;
identifying corresponding pixels in the set of images using the initial depth estimates;
comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels in the set of images to detect mismatched pixels;
when an initial depth estimate does not result in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, selecting the initial depth estimate as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint;
when an initial depth estimate results in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, selecting the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint by;
determining a set of candidate depth estimates using a plurality of different subsets of the set of images;
identifying corresponding pixels in each of the plurality of subsets of the set of images based upon the candidate depth estimates; and
selecting the candidate depth of the subset having the most similar corresponding pixels as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems in accordance with embodiments of the invention can perform parallax detection and correction in images captured using array cameras. Due to the different viewpoints of the cameras, parallax results in variations in the position of objects within the captured images of the scene. Methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention provide an accurate account of the pixel disparity due to parallax between the different cameras in the array, so that appropriate scene-dependent geometric shifts can be applied to the pixels of the captured images when performing super-resolution processing. In several embodiments, detecting parallax involves using competing subsets of images to estimate the depth of a pixel location in an image from a reference viewpoint. In a number of embodiments, generating depth estimates considers the similarity of pixels in multiple spectral channels. In certain embodiments, generating depth estimates involves generating a confidence map indicating the reliability of depth estimates.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of estimating distances to objects within a scene from a light field comprising a set of images captured from different viewpoints using a processor configured by an image processing application, the method comprising:
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selecting a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints; normalizing the set of images to increase the similarity of corresponding pixels within the set of images; determining initial depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using at least a subset of the set of images, where an initial depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint is determined by; identifying pixels in the at least a subset of the set of images that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths; comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; and selecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as an initial depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; identifying corresponding pixels in the set of images using the initial depth estimates; comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels in the set of images to detect mismatched pixels; when an initial depth estimate does not result in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, selecting the initial depth estimate as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; when an initial depth estimate results in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, selecting the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint by; determining a set of candidate depth estimates using a plurality of different subsets of the set of images; identifying corresponding pixels in each of the plurality of subsets of the set of images based upon the candidate depth estimates; and selecting the candidate depth of the subset having the most similar corresponding pixels as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of synthesizing a higher resolution image from a light field comprising a set of lower resolution images captured from different viewpoints, the method comprising:
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estimating distances to objects within a scene from the light field comprising a set of images captured from different viewpoints using a processor configured by an image processing application, the method comprising; selecting a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints; normalizing the set of images to increase the similarity of corresponding pixels within the set of images; determining initial depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using at least a subset of the set of images, where an initial depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint is determined by; identifying pixels in the at least a subset of the set of images that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths; comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; and selecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as an initial depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; identifying corresponding pixels in the set of images using the initial depth estimates; comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels in the set of images to detect mismatched pixels; when an initial depth estimate does not result in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, selecting the initial depth estimate as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; when an initial depth estimate results in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, selecting the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint by; determining a set of candidate depth estimates using a plurality of different subsets of the set of images; identifying corresponding pixels in each of the plurality of subsets of the set of images based upon the candidate depth estimates; and selecting the candidate depth of the subset having the most similar corresponding pixels as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; determining the visibility of the pixels in the set of images from the reference viewpoint by; identifying corresponding pixels in the set of images using the current depth estimates; and determining that a pixel in a given image is not visible in the reference viewpoint when the pixel fails a photometric similarity criterion determined based upon a comparison of corresponding pixels; and fusing pixels from the set of images using the processor configured by the image processing application based upon the depth estimates to create a fused image having a resolution that is greater than the resolutions of the images in the set of images by; identifying the pixels from the set of images that are visible in an image from the reference viewpoint using the visibility information; and applying scene dependent geometric shifts to the pixels from the set of images that are visible in an image from the reference viewpoint to shift the pixels into the reference viewpoint, where the scene dependent geometric shifts are determined using the current depth estimates; and fusing the shifted pixels from the set of images to create a fused image from the reference viewpoint having a resolution that is greater than the resolutions of the images in the set of images. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. An image processing system, comprising:
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a processor; memory containing a set of images captured from different viewpoints and an image processing application; wherein the image processing application configures the processor to; select a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints; normalize the set of images to increase the similarity of corresponding pixels within the set of images; determine initial depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using at least a subset of the set of images, where an initial depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint is determined by; identifying pixels in the at least a subset of the set of images that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths; comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; and selecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as an initial depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; identify corresponding pixels in the set of images using the initial depth estimates; compare the similarity of the corresponding pixels in the set of images to detect mismatched pixels; when an initial depth estimate does not result in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, select the initial depth estimate as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint; when an initial depth estimate results in the detection of a mismatch between corresponding pixels in the set of images, select the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint by; determining a set of candidate depth estimates using a plurality of different subsets of the set of images; identifying corresponding pixels in each of the plurality of subsets of the set of images based upon the candidate depth estimates; and selecting the candidate depth of the subset having the most similar corresponding pixels as the current depth estimate for the pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification