Patent ID: 6205241
Filing Date: 2001-03-20
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
A method for compressing one of a stereoscopic set of images, each of the images in the stereoscopic set of images having a vantage point associated therewith, the method comprising the steps of:a) identifying in a first image of the stereoscopic set of images a first region representing an apparent point;b) identifying in a second image of the stereoscopic set of images a second region representing the apparent point;c) determining an epipolar offset, where the epipolar offset is the difference in an epipolar direction between the location of the second region relative to a characteristic point of the second image and the location of the first region relative to a characteristic point of the first image, which epipolar direction is substantially parallel to a vector from the vantage point of the first image to the vantage point of the second image; andd) creating a compressed stereoscopic image by replacing the second region with an indication of the first region and with the corresponding epipolar offset.