Patent ID: 6961463

Claim:
A method for detecting duplicate images comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of images captured at determinable times; (b) dividing each image into an X number of blocks, wherein one or more blocks represent a central area and a foreground area; (c) computing histograms for each block of each image, and block histogram intersection values obtained from comparisons between histograms from corresponding blocks from each image; (d) determining whether each block histogram intersection value for at least those blocks surrounding the central area is higher than a threshold T 1 , and determining whether the number of intersection values below the threshold T 1 are not greater than a certain number N; (e) computing an average histogram intersection value of the foreground area, and determining whether the average block histogram intersection value of the foreground area is not lower than a threshold T 2 ; (f) determining whether the average histogram intersection value of the foreground is higher than a threshold T 3 ; (g) determining whether an average of the X number of block histogram intersection values is higher than a threshold T 4 ; (h) determining whether the average of the X number of block histogram intersection values is higher than a threshold T 5 ; (i) determining whether the time difference between capture of the images is less than a threshold T 6 ; (j) determining whether the average of the X number of block histogram intersection values is higher than a threshold T 7 ; and (k) determining whether the time difference between the capture of the images is less than a threshold T 8 ; and (l) utilizing the determinations made in steps (d) through (k) to determine if any of the images are duplicates.