Patent ID: 6970600

Claim:
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a three-dimensional image pickup part that includes a projecting part that projects a pattern along a direction of an optical axis, a first image pickup part that picks up an intensity image and a projection pattern image deflected from the direction of the optical axis of the projecting part by a half mirror, and a second image pickup part that picks up the projection pattern image from a direction different from the optical axis of the projecting part, the three-dimensional image pickup part creating first range information based on a pattern picked up by the second image pickup part; a geometric transformation part that performs geometric transformation for the intensity image picked up by the first image pickup part, based on the first range information; a storage part that stores, as initial frame data, an initial image of frame data in a time-series transformed by the geometric transformation part; a frame data comparison part that makes comparison between successive frame data images in the time-series transformed by the geometric transformation part; and an image processing part that retrieves only differential data between successive frame data in the time-series as storage data based on a result of the comparison of the frame data comparison part of the initial frame data and frame data subsequently transformed in the time-series.