360-Degree Video Stitching via Quality Normalization

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional systems fail to seamlessly stitch images or videos captured by devices with differing quality, such as resolution, brightness, or size, resulting in distorted stitched videos.

Innovation Solution

A system comprising two video cameras, a quality adjuster, a view synthesizer, and an encoder that adjusts the quality of video streams during recording and/or playback to ensure equivalence, allowing for seamless stitching and encoding into a single, coherent video stream.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If multiple video cameras with different quality (resolution, brightness, size) are used to capture 360-degree view, then the system can capture wider field of view and provide more comprehensive coverage, but the stitching process becomes complex and produces distorted results due to quality differences

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefield of view coverageVSAvoidstitching accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary quality adjustment on each video stream before stitching by adjusting resolution, brightness, and other quality parameters to make them equivalent. This preliminary normalization action eliminates the quality differences that would otherwise cause stitching distortion, allowing the stitching process to proceed with standard algorithms without complex adjustments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the quality parameters (resolution, brightness, contrast) of the video streams to standardize them across different cameras. By modifying these parameters to achieve equivalence between streams, the system enables seamless stitching while preserving the comprehensive field of view coverage provided by multiple cameras.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If conventional stitching methods are used on videos with different quality, then the stitching process is simple and fast, but the output contains distortions and seams due to quality mismatches

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestitching speedVSAvoidstitch quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary quality adjustment on each video stream before stitching by adjusting resolution, brightness, and other quality parameters to make them equivalent. This preliminary normalization action eliminates the quality differences that would otherwise cause stitching distortion, allowing the stitching process to proceed with standard algorithms without complex adjustments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the quality parameters (resolution, brightness, contrast) of the video streams to standardize them across different cameras. By modifying these parameters to achieve equivalence between streams, the system enables seamless stitching while preserving the comprehensive field of view coverage provided by multiple cameras.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If video quality is adjusted to match between cameras, then the stitching process becomes easier and produces seamless results, but the processing time and computational complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestitching accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary quality adjustment on each video stream before stitching by adjusting resolution, brightness, and other quality parameters to make them equivalent. This preliminary normalization action eliminates the quality differences that would otherwise cause stitching distortion, allowing the stitching process to proceed with standard algorithms without complex adjustments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the quality parameters (resolution, brightness, contrast) of the video streams to standardize them across different cameras. By modifying these parameters to achieve equivalence between streams, the system enables seamless stitching while preserving the comprehensive field of view coverage provided by multiple cameras.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS8953079B2System and method for generating 360 degree video recording using MVC

Publication Date: 2015.02.10 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC

AI summary

The present invention provides a system and method for combining asymmetrical camera views from a front racing and a back facing camera. Resizing and quality enhancement techniques are used to bring both front and back camera to same quality. Further, a panoramic mode of from camera and back camera are utilized to create a uniform stitching.