In-Camera Panorama Stitching Assistance via Cylindrical Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Panoramic photography in digital cameras faces challenges in aligning individual images effectively for a seamless stitched panoramic view, as existing methods lack real-time assistance for precise alignment, leading to difficulties in capturing wide-format images.
Innovation Solution
A digital camera system that transforms live views from rectangular to cylindrical coordinates using a sparse grid look-up table and interpolation hardware, displaying an overlay of the overlap portion between images to assist users in aligning subsequent shots, enabling real-time alignment and improved stitching of panoramic images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If digital cameras capture a sequence of adjacent images for panoramic views, then wide-format panoramic images can be generated, but alignment precision between individual images deteriorates due to lack of real-time alignment assistance
Solution Approach 1:
The system displays an overlay showing the overlap portion between the previously captured image and the current live view, providing real-time visual feedback to the user. This feedback mechanism allows the user to adjust the camera position and angle to achieve proper alignment before capturing the next image, thereby maintaining high alignment precision while capturing wide-format panoramic views.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs coordinate transformation from rectangular to cylindrical coordinates and generates the overlap portion display in advance, before the user captures the next image. This preliminary preparation of alignment assistance information enables the user to make accurate alignment adjustments without delay, resolving the contradiction between wide coverage and alignment precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If specialized equipment and software are used for panoramic photography, then stitching quality improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The digital camera performs the coordinate transformation from rectangular to cylindrical coordinates internally using its own processor and display system. This self-service capability eliminates the need for external specialized software and equipment, allowing the camera to autonomously provide alignment assistance and achieve high stitching quality while maintaining simple device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera's display system serves multiple functions: it shows the live view for composition, displays the coordinate-transformed overlap portion for alignment assistance, and provides visual feedback during the capturing process. This multi-functionality integrates alignment assistance capabilities into the existing camera system without requiring separate specialized equipment, thereby improving stitching quality while avoiding increased device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A camera that provides for a panorama mode of operation that stitches together two or more images to create a single image with a wide format. In panorama mode, a live view of a scene is transformed from rectangular coordinates to cylindrical coordinates and displayed by the camera. Also, an overlap portion between the previous image and the next image to be captured is characterized. In real time, after the previous image is captured, the overlap portion of the previous image is also transformed from rectangular coordinates into cylindrical coordinates. Next, the camera displays an overlay of at least a portion of the overlap portion onto the live view of the next image to be captured. And this overlay can assist the user in aligning the live view of the next image to be captured with the overlap portion of the previously captured image.