Patent ID: 8259173

Claim:
An image generating apparatus, comprising: a real camera which captures camera image data projected onto a single real imaging plane and ranging from a close view to a distant view; an image processing controller which sets a virtual camera at a position higher than the real camera, which sets a virtual projection plane from the virtual camera on ground, which sets a virtual stereoscopic imaging plane, as a virtual imaging plane of the virtual camera, including a close view imaging plane parallel to the ground and a distant view imaging plane connected to a side of the close view imaging plane near from the real camera and set to have a predetermined downward tilt angle relative to the ground, which performs a coordinate transformation between a position of each picture element of the single camera image data captured by the real camera and a position of each picture element on the virtual stereoscopic imaging plane of the virtual camera through the virtual projection plane, which transfers the each picture element of the camera image data of the close view onto the close view imaging plane and transfers the each picture element of the camera image data of the distant view connected to the each picture element of the camera image data of the close view onto the distant view imaging plane connected to the close view imaging plane and tilted relative to the ground according to the coordinate transformation, and which generates monitor image data for obtaining a monitor image, the monitor image being as an image to be projected on the virtual stereoscopic imaging plane when the virtual projection plane is viewed from the virtual camera; and a monitor which displays a synthesis image in which a downward image of the close view and a perspective image of an intermediate view to the distant view projected by the monitor image data generated by the image processing controller are synthesized.