Adaptive Image Slice Selection for Real-Time Panoramic Blending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for generating panoramic images, such as cylindrical warping, are computationally intensive and often cannot be performed in real-time on portable devices like mobile phones and tablets due to lack of computational resources, leading to distorted images with curved lines and undefined regions.
Innovation Solution
A method to adaptively select and adjust image slices based on image capture device motion, using sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes to ensure sufficient overlap for blending, thereby avoiding cylindrical warping and maintaining image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If cylindrical warping operation is performed to compensate for distortion, then image distortion is corrected, but computational complexity increases making real-time processing impossible on portable devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential portion (slice) from each frame that contains sufficient information for panoramic construction, eliminating the need to process entire frames through computationally intensive cylindrical warping operations. This extraction approach maintains image quality while dramatically reducing computational requirements for portable devices
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the panoramic image construction process into discrete slice selections from individual frames, where each slice is carefully chosen to provide necessary overlap with adjacent slices. This segmentation allows simple geometric transformations instead of complex global warping operations, enabling real-time processing on resource-constrained devices
2Manufacturing precision
If cylindrical warping operation is performed to compensate for distortion, then image distortion is corrected, but processing time increases preventing real-time generation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary slice selection based on motion information before panoramic composition, identifying and extracting only the necessary image regions in advance. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming cylindrical warping during the actual panoramic generation, enabling real-time processing while maintaining image quality
3Productivity
If simple slice concatenation is used to avoid cylindrical warping, then computational efficiency is improved, but image distortion occurs and undefined regions appear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts slice selection based on real-time motion information from sensors, adapting which portions of each frame to extract as slices. This dynamic approach ensures that slices are always selected to provide sufficient overlap and coverage, maintaining image quality and eliminating undefined regions while keeping the computationally efficient slice-based approach
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables real-time generation of wide-angle images on resource-constrained devices by ensuring overlap between slices, reducing distortion and avoiding undefined regions, while maintaining computational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
Illustrative sensors include, but are not limited to, accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors
Implementation Method 2
Illustrative sensors include, but are not limited to, accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer readable media for adaptively selecting what portion (aka slice) of a first image (aka frame) is selected to overlap and blend with a second frame during frame capture operations are disclosed. In general, for every new frame captured in a sequence the overlap between it and the slice selected from a prior frame may be determined based, at least in part, on sensor output. If the overlap so determined is below a desired threshold, the position of the current frame's slice may be adjusted so as to provide the desired overlap.