Patent ID: 6249616
Filing Date: 2001-06-19
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
A computer-implemented method for combining two-dimensional source images that have overlapping portions and are taken from a substantially common camera location, each source image represented by a corresponding digital data set of three-dimensional camera parameters that define a position of the camera relative to the source image that is viewed from the camera, the method comprising:for each pair of overlapping source images to be combined:determining three-dimensional transformation parameters defining a mapping between a first image space corresponding to one of the source images' digital data set and a second image space corresponding to the other of the source images' digital data set, the mapping describing a reorienting of the camera from one of the source images to the other of the source images; andcreating an output data set representing a two-dimensional output image by combining the digital data sets representing the pair of source images in accordance with the determined three-dimensional transformation parameters and by transforming the source images into a common output space by finding a path from a source image space to an output image space based on the determined three-dimensional transformation parameters;in which finding a path includes choosing a path that is more accurate than other paths.