Patent ID: 7596243
Filing Date: 2009-09-29
Classification: G06T,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method carried out by an electronic data processor, comprising the acts of: estimating an initial motion vector for an object whose motion is represented by a change in position between a target image and a reference image; estimating an initial vector for a background area over which the object appears to move; computing, by the electronic data processor, at least one iteration of a dynamical model comprising a prediction error estimation process using the estimated vectors, wherein if a pixel in the target image is proximate to an estimated occluded area relative to the future reference frame, using a past reference frame to estimate the prediction error and otherwise if the pixel in the target image is proximate to an estimated occluded area relative to the past reference frame, using a future reference frame to estimate the prediction error and using a hypothesis testing procedure for an object motion field, wherein if a pixel in the target image has a corresponding value in a boundary field that is greater than or equal to a threshold, then an object hypothesis is an object motion vector with a smaller prediction error from a past image object motion vector and a future image object motion vector and otherwise if the pixel in the target image has a corresponding value in the boundary field that is less than the threshold, then the object hypothesis is the object motion vector with the larger prediction error from the past image object motion vector and the future image object motion vector; and extracting a boundary of the object using the at least one iteration of the dynamical model.