Dynamic Crop Window Video Stabilization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Video stabilization techniques fail to effectively remove shake and jitter from handheld recorded videos, especially when camera motion is complex, such as during panning or walking, as they often require significant processing and may distort important regions or objects.

Innovation Solution

The method involves determining an optimal crop window size and transform to smooth out camera paths by iteratively adjusting the crop window size until a predetermined smoothness metric is met, applying a crop window transform to stabilize the video as if recorded from a steady camera path, using a system with modules for camera path estimation, stabilization, and translation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional video stabilization techniques are used to remove shake and jitter from handheld videos, then camera motion is corrected, but significant processing is required and important regions or objects may be distorted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo stabilization effectivenessVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes only the problematic shake and jitter components from the video while preserving the important regions and objects. By identifying and isolating the destabilizing motion patterns, the system applies stabilization only where needed rather than processing the entire video frame uniformly, thus reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining stabilization effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different processing qualities to different regions of the video frame. Important regions or objects are preserved with minimal distortion, while shake and jitter are removed from less critical areas. This localized approach allows the system to maintain high stabilization effectiveness in key areas while reducing processing complexity in other regions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If traditional video stabilization techniques are used to correct camera motion, then shake is removed, but processing time increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo stabilization effectivenessVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential stabilization parameters from the video data, identifying and removing shake and jitter components without processing the entire video uniformly. This selective extraction approach significantly reduces processing time while maintaining stabilization effectiveness by focusing computational resources only on the destabilizing elements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial stabilization action by targeting only the problematic shake and jitter components rather than processing the entire video frame. This partial action approach reduces processing time by avoiding unnecessary computations on already stable regions while maintaining sufficient stabilization effectiveness for the problematic areas.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Reliability

If crop window transform is applied to stabilize video, then camera path is smoothed, but some content may be removed from the video

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo stabilization effectivenessVSAvoidvideo content
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent carefully extracts and removes only the minimal necessary portions of video content that correspond to shake and jitter artifacts. By precisely identifying and extracting only the problematic regions, the system achieves effective camera path smoothing while minimizing loss of important video content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies crop window transform with local quality control, preserving important content in key regions while allowing minimal cropping in less critical areas. This localized approach maintains video stabilization effectiveness by smoothing the camera path where needed while protecting important content from being removed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3334149B1Methods and systems for processing a video for stablization using dynamic crop
Publication Date: 2022.01.05 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3334149B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3334149B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3334149B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

Methods and systems for processing a video for stabilization are described. A recorded video may be stabilized by removing at least a portion of shake introduced in the video. An original camera path for a camera used to record the video may be determined. A crop window size may be selected and a crop window transform may accordingly be determined. The crop window transform may describe a transform of the original camera path to a modified camera path that is smoother than the original camera path. A smoothness metric indicative of a degree of smoothness of the modified path may be determined. Based on a comparison of the smoothness metric to a predetermined threshold, for example, the crop window transform may be applied to the original video to obtain a stabilized modified video.