Omnidirectional image processing device and method using warp processing for enhanced object visibility

• US 8,744,216 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2011
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Arai, Yuko, Takemoto, Yuichiro, Sugiura, Masataka
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta, Bhavesh
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOYER, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US13/264,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20120045149A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• US Class Current: 382/296
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/047 Fisheye or wide-angle transformations
• 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 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An omnidirectional image processing apparatus enables the visibility of a specified monitoring object in an omnidirectional image to be improved while maintaining the continuity of that omnidirectional image. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus performs image processing on an omnidirectional image, and has a monitoring object specification section that specifies a monitoring object photographed in the omnidirectional image. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus also has an image rotating section that rotates the omnidirectional image so that the position of a specified monitoring object becomes upper-central, and a center position moving section that moves the center position of the omnidirectional image rotated by the image rotating section downward by means of warping processing.

Claims

1. An omnidirectional image processing apparatus that performs image processing on an omnidirectional image, the omnidirectional image processing apparatus comprising:

a monitoring object specification section that specifies a monitoring object photographed in the omnidirectional image;

an image rotating section that rotates the omnidirectional image so that a position of the specified monitoring object becomes upper-central, based on an angle formed by a line extending in an upper central direction from a center of the omnidirectional image and a line extending in a direction of the original position of the specified monitoring object from the center of the omnidirectional image; and

a center position moving section that moves a center position of the omnidirectional image rotated by the image rotating section downward to an area above a bottom edge of the omnidirectional image by performing warping processing on the rotated omnidirectional image, the warping processing being processing that deforms an image by executing nonlinear geometric transformations on division areas into which the image is divided so that an adjacency relationship between the division areas is not destroyed.

2. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a monitoring object position information input section that inputs a position of the specified monitoring object in the omnidirectional image in initial-state,

wherein the image rotating section rotates the omnidirectional image based on the position of the specified monitoring object.

3. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a moving image storage section that stores a moving image that is time series data of the omnidirectional image;

a monitoring object position information storage section that stores a position of the specified monitoring object at each time input by the monitoring object position information input section; and

an image output section that outputs the moving image on which the image processing has been performed.

4. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the center position moving section enlarges, in the omnidirectional image, an image area of the specified monitoring object by the warping processing.

5. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image ellipsification section that changes a shape of the omnidirectional image to an elliptical shape by extending the omnidirectional image horizontally.

6. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a distortion correction section that locally changes, in the omnidirectional image, a shape of an image area of the specified monitoring object among monitoring objects photographed in the omnidirectional image, and corrects distortion thereof.

7. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the center position moving section enlarges, in the omnidirectional image, a radial direction interval of a part corresponding to the specified monitoring object by the warping processing.

8. The omnidirectional image processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the center position moving section changes radial direction intervals in the omnidirectional image by the warping processing to be progressively larger toward the circumference of the omnidirectional image.

9. An omnidirectional image processing method that performs image processing on an omnidirectional image, the omnidirectional image processing method comprising:

specifying a monitoring object photographed in the omnidirectional image;

rotating the omnidirectional image so that a position of the specified monitoring object becomes upper-central, based on an angle formed by a line extending in an upper central direction from a center of the omnidirectional image and a line extending in a direction of the original position of the specified monitoring object from the center of the omnidirectional image; and

moving a center position of rotated the omnidirectional image downward to an area above a bottom edge of the omnidirectional image by performing warping processing on the rotated omnidirectional image, the warping processing being processing that deforms an image by executing nonlinear geometric transformations on division areas into which the image is divided so that an adjacency relationship between the division areas is not destroyed.