Patent ID: 7561188

Claim:
An image processing device comprising: first angle detecting means for detecting, in image data in which real world light signals having continuity of the real world light signals in that, at any arbitrary position in a length-wise direction of an object in distribution of intensity of light from the object, the cross-sectional shape as the change in level corresponding to the change in position in the direction orthogonal to the length-wise direction are projected so that a part of the continuity of the real world light signals is lost, an angle with respect to a reference axis of a pixel region having continuity of the image data in that a constant characteristic is obtained in a predetermined dimensional direction corresponding to which is changed from the continuity of the real world light signals, using matching processing; second angle detecting means for detecting the angle using statistical processing based on the image data within a predetermined region corresponding to the angle detected by the first angle detecting means; and actual world estimating means for estimating the light signals by estimating the lost continuity of the real world light signals based on the angle detected by the second angle detecting means.