Positional sensor-assisted image registration for panoramic photography

Abstract

The disclosure pertains to devices, methods, and computer readable media for performing positional sensor-assisted panoramic photography techniques in handheld personal electronic devices. Generalized steps that may be used to carry out the panoramic photography techniques described herein include, but are not necessarily limited to: 1.) acquiring image data from the electronic device's image sensor; 2.) performing 'motion filtering' on the acquired image data, e.g., using information returned from positional sensors of the electronic device to inform the processing of the image data; 3.) performing image registration between adjacent captured images; 4.) performing geometric corrections on captured image data, e.g., due to perspective changes and/or camera rotation about a non-center of perspective (COP) camera point; and 5.) 'stitching' the captured images together to create the panoramic scene, e.g., blending the image data in the overlap area between adjacent captured images. The resultant stitched panoramic image may be cropped before final storage.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application is related to commonly assigned applications having U.S. Patent Application Serial Nos. 13 / 109875, 13 / 109878, 13 / 109883, and 13 / 109941, each of which was filed on May 17, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference merged here. technical field [0003] The disclosed embodiments relate generally to panoramic photography. More particularly, the disclosed embodiments relate to improving panoramic photography for handheld personal electronic devices with image sensors. Background technique [0004] Panoramic photography can generally be defined as a photographic technique for capturing images with an extended field of view. An image exhibiting a field of view approaching or greater than that of the human eye (eg, approximately 160° wide by 75° high) may be referred to as a "panorama." As such, panoramic images typically have an aspect ratio of 2:1 or greater, meaning that the image is at le...

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Clearly, such preparation and computation are undesirable in han...

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