Patent ID: 8355083
Filing Date: 2013-01-15
Classification: G06T,H04N

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented image-processing method for instant replay for the automatic generation of video sequences, the method comprising the steps of, in an online phase of the method: providing or enabling at least one source camera that is adapted to provide a source image of a scene, inputting a user input defining a reference keyframe from a reference view from the source image sequence, the reference keyframe being a video image from the point in time at which the user wishes the subsequently generated virtual replay to take place; retrieving the reference keyframe from a recording of the source image sequence; and optionally retrieving one or more further keyframes from further views from recordings of further source image sequences of the scene, each further keyframe having been recorded at the same point in time as the reference keyframe, subsequently called keyframe point; automatically computing one or more sets of virtual camera parameters, each set describing a virtual view of the scene by a virtual camera; if more than one set of virtual camera parameters has been computed, selecting one of the sets for the subsequent processing steps, the virtual view defined by the selected set subsequently being called selected virtual view; or if only one set of virtual camera parameters has been computed, using the corresponding virtual view as the selected virtual view; generating a virtual camera flight path, which is described by a change of virtual camera parameters over time, and which defines a movement of the virtual camera and a corresponding change of the virtual view rendering a virtual video stream defined by the virtual camera flight path; and at least one of storing the virtual video stream in a computer-readable storage device and transmitting the virtual video stream over a communication link.