Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America

Atsushi Morimura

Kenya Uomori

Masamichi Nakagawa

Takeo Azuma

Shusaku Okamoto

Kunio Nobori

Hirofumi Ishii

Yoshinori Kitamura

Atsushi Iisaka

Takashi Yoshida

Hiroki Matsuoka

Yasuo Fukui

Kazuhiro Kayashima

Makoto Fujimoto

Hiromichi Tanaka

Hiroshi Akahori

Joji Wada

Satoshi Sato

Koji Ikeda

Hiroshi Onishi

Yoshihiko Matsukawa

Akira Ishida

Mikio Morioka

Kazufumi Mizusawa

Kouji Ikeda

Nobuhiko Yasui

Kenji Iwano

Shuhei Taguchi

Shoji Nishikawa

Yo Egusa

Qinhe Wang

Akihiro Tamura

Atsushi Fujioka

Yasumi Miyakawa

Takasuke Sonoyama

Ichiro Kojima

Hideo Toyoda

An image converter partially enlarges and reduces a panorama image. The image converter inputs a panorama image, enlarges/reduces the panorama image, such that an enlargement ratio changes continuously in a continuous area of the panorama image. In the image enlargement/reduction, the panorama image is enlarged and reduced such that a width, in the longitudinal direction of the panorama image, of the panorama image after the enlargement/reduction fits into the original panorama image.

Image conversion apparatus, camera, image conversion method, and storage medium with program stored therein

An electronic zoom and distortion correction processing unit () performs electronic zooming and distortion correction of a distorted image by re-mapping the pixels of the distorted image. In accordance with a specified electronic zoom factor (S), a re-mapping control unit () controls re-mapping by the electronic zoom and distortion correction processing unit () such that the correction factor (S) of the distortion correction processing is changed in addition to the electronic zoom factor of the electronic zoom processing. By this means, the correction factor (S) is changed in accordance with the specified electronic zoom factor (S), and distorted images can be appropriately corrected while preventing denaturing of the images.

Camera, distortion correction device and distortion correction method

A vehicle-operation assist includes a circumferential-state imager for imaging a circumferential state of a vehicle with a camera and generating a circumferential-state image; a synthetic-image generator for generating a synthetic image by superimposing on the circumferential-state image, an assumed-movement pattern of the vehicle performing a predetermined series of driving operations; and a display for displaying the synthetic image. The circumferential-state imager has at least one camera and a camera parameter table for storing characteristics of the camera and generating the circumferential-state image on the basis of the camera characteristics.

Driving-operation assist and recording medium

A camera for taking a state behind a vehicle is installed in a position laterally shifted from the rear center of the vehicle. An image processing unit generates a rear image from a camera image by shifting merely a rectangular area of the camera image so that a vertical center line thereof can substantially accord with the center line along the lengthwise direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, processing for correcting lens distortion may be performed. As a result, when the vehicle is moved straight backward, an object present on the center line of the vehicle moves vertically in substantially the center of the screen, so that a user can be prevented from having an odd feeling to see the image.

Monitoring system

The invention provides a vehicle surroundings monitoring system for synthesizing and displaying images captured by a plurality of cameras to provide images that, near the border between partial images, are more accurate and more readily understood by the user than has been the case conventionally. In the synthesized image, a partial image captured by a first camera and a partial image captured by a second camera are adjacent to one another at their border. Near this border, the capturing directions of the first and the second cameras both substantially match the direction of the border. Consequently, images of objects near the border extend along the border, and thus do not disappear on the synthesized image.

Method for arranging cameras in a vehicle surroundings monitoring system

An apparatus for processing an image, containing the 3D positional information of an object, realizes highly user-friendly and entertaining functions. The object image is presented on a display panel. When the user specifies a point on the panel screen, a real size of the object at the specified point is obtained in accordance with the 3D positional information. Then, a scale image substantially representing the real size obtained is generated, combined with the object image and a synthesized image is presented. The user is allowed to freely change the direction or location of the scale image.

Image processor, method of providing image processing services and order processing method

An image generating apparatus comprising: a camera or a plurality of cameras; space reconstructing means for mapping the input image from said camera, into a predetermined space model of a predetermined three-dimensional space; point-of-view converting means of synthesizing an image viewed from an arbitrary virtual point of view in said predetermined three-dimensional space by referencing to said space data mapped by said space reconstructing means; and displaying means of displaying the image converted by said point-of-view converting means.

Method and apparatus for displaying a synthesized image viewed from a virtual point of view

For supporting a complicated driving operation, a synthesized image is presented to the driver. The driver can view this image and thus drive with a sense of security. The synthesized image may include an image of at least one tire and may have an enlargement/reduction ratio that is relatively higher in a nearby area of the vehicle, including a grounding portion of at least one tire of the vehicle, as compared with a peripheral area of the vehicle.

The invention provides a range finder capable of carrying out three-dimensional measurement stably for a long period of time. A light pattern is projected on a subject by using a light source array unit in which a plurality of light sources, such as LEDs, are arranged. Even when each LED has a small light quantity, a sufficiently large quantity of light can be projected on the subject by the entire light source array unit, and hence, the three-dimensional measurement can be stably carried out. Also, a plurality of light patterns can be generated by electrically controlling a light emitting state of each LED of the light source array unit.

Range finder, three-dimensional measuring method and light source apparatus

In the vehicle surroundings display device of the invention, an image processor generates an image showing the situation around a vehicle. When an obstacle is detected by an obstacle detection means, the image processor determines an image missing region using the position of the border of the obstacle on the vehicle side detected by an obstacle position detection means and fills the image missing region with substitute image data. This eliminates unnaturalness of a display image the user may feel and enables the user to accurately recognize the position of a neighboring obstacle that is important in driving operation.

Vehicle surroundings display device and image providing system

A synthetic image viewed from a virtual point of view above a vehicle is generated, using images captured by a plurality of cameras shooting surroundings of the vehicle. In the synthetic image, an illustration image or an actual image of the vehicle is displayed in a vehicle region in which the vehicle is present. The area around the vehicle that is not shot by any of the cameras is displayed as a blind spot region.

Image processing device and monitoring system

In transmitting image data from multiple cameras to an image processing section to produce a synthesized image from respective camera images, the amount of data transmitted through a transmission path can be cut down without sacrificing the quality of the synthesized image. In accordance with a correspondence between the synthesized and camera images as described on a mapping table, a resolution specifier specifies resolutions, which should be necessary for image synthesis, for respective areas of each camera image. A compressor, provided for each of the cameras, compresses the associated camera image data according to the resolutions specified. In this manner, the image data, which has been compressed in accordance with the correspondence between the synthesized and camera images, is transmitted through the transmission path.

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Nara, Japan

Atsushi Morimura