Patent ID: 8493447

Claim:
An image synthesis apparatus comprising: an image obtainer which obtains a plurality of images taken by a plurality of cameras; a pixel value corrector which, with respect to each of the images, calculates, as a correction factor of an average pixel value in overlap regions located at the both ends of an image with an image region of an image taken by another camera among the plurality of cameras, a correction factor such that the average pixel value after correction in the overlap region and the average pixel value after correction in an overlap region, which is located in the image taken by the another camera overlapping the overlap region, correspond to each other, and, in the adjacent direction of the images, calculates the correction factor of a pixel value in a region other than the overlap regions by a predetermined continuous function connecting the correction factors in the overlap regions located at the both ends of the image and corrects the entire image based on the calculated correction factor; a correction factor calculator which, with respect to each of the images, calculates the correction factor of the pixel value at a representative point, which is one pixel in the overlap region in the image, based on the average pixel value of the overlap region and a desired value and, in the horizontal direction of the image, when the correction factor from the representative point to the left or right end of the image, which is closer to the representative point, is the same as the correction factor at the representative point, calculates the correction factor between the representative points, determined for each of the overlap regions in the image, by a predetermined continuous function connecting the correction factors at the representative points; a synthetic image generator which synthesizes the images corrected by the pixel value corrector to generate one synthetic image; and an image output which outputs the synthetic image generated by the synthetic image generator to an external apparatus.