Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Canon Information Systems Research Australia Pty. Ltd.

Ernest Yiu Cheong Wan

Alison Joan Lennon

Sue-Ken Yap

Matthew Raphael Arnison

Jing Wu

Barry James Drake

Xin Yu Liu

Steven David Webster

Laurence Crew

Myriam Elisa Lucie Amielh

Eileen Oi-Yan Mak

Jeonren Vendrig

Michael Peter Anderson

A method of determining a depth value of a fine structure pixel in a first image of a scene using a second image of the scene is disclosed. A gradient orientation for each of a plurality of fine structure pixels in the first image is determined. Difference images are generated from the second image and a series of blurred images formed from the first image, each difference image corresponding to one of a plurality of depth values. Each of the difference images is smoothed, in accordance with the determined gradient orientations, to generate smoothed difference images having increased coherency of fine structure. For each of a plurality of fine structure pixels in the first image, one of the smoothed difference images is selected. The depth value of the fine structure pixel corresponding to the selected smoothed difference image is determined.

Method, system and apparatus for determining a depth value of a pixel

A method of refining a depth map determines a depth map by estimating a depth of pixels of an associated image. The depth map is divided into connected components based on similarity of each of the pixels of the depth map. A band of pixels along a boundary of each of the connected components is selected. A confidence score is assigned to pixels within each band of pixels. The confidence score increases with the estimated depth of the pixels. The depth map is updated based on the assigned confidence scores to determine a refined depth map.

Method, system and apparatus for refining a depth map

To extend the working range of depth from defocus (DFD) particularly on small depth of field (DoF) images, DFD is performed on an image pair at multiple spatial resolutions and the depth estimates are then combined. Specific implementations construct a Gaussian pyramid for each image of an image pair, perform DFD on the corresponding pair of images at each level of the two image pyramids, convert DFD depth scores to physical depth values using calibration curves generated for each level, and combine the depth values from all levels in a coarse-to-fine manner to obtain a final depth map that covers the entire depth range of the scene.

Multiscale depth estimation using depth from defocus

An input depth map is received having less resolution than an image. From a window region about an image pixel of the image, pixels are selected having a substantially similar characteristic value as the image pixel. A reference depth value is determined for the image pixel from depth values in the input depth map which correspond to each of the selected pixels. Weights are determined for each pixel within the window region based on a difference between a depth value corresponding to each of the selected pixels and the determined reference depth value for the image pixel. A refined depth value is determined for the image pixel from a weighted sum of the depth values corresponding to each of the selected pixels. A high resolution depth map corresponding to the image is determined from the refined depth value.

Method, system and apparatus for forming a high resolution depth map

A method of forming a refined depth map Dof an image I using a binary depth map Dof the image, said method comprising segmenting () the image into a superpixel image S, defining () a foreground and a background in the superpixel image S, to form a superpixel depth map D, intersecting () the respective foreground and the background of the superpixel depth map Dwith the binary depth map Ddetermined independently of the superpixel image S, to define a trimap T consisting of a foreground region, a background region and an unknown region, and forming the refined binary depth map Dof the image from the trimap T by reclassifying () the pixels in the unknown region as either foreground or background based on a comparison () of the pixel values in the unknown region with pixel values in at least one of the other trimap regions.

Depth constrained superpixel-based depth map refinement

An assistance method for selecting a program using a display device () is disclosed. The method () selects one or more attributes associated with a first program, the one or more attributes being selected dynamically by a processor associated with the display device () according to one or more predetermined criteria. The method searches for a second program associated with one or more of the selected attributes. The second program and the one or more attributes associated therewith are displayed on the display device, according to the search for the second program.

Program selecting apparatus and method of controlling program selecting apparatus

Disclosed is a method of browsing a set of media items on a display device. A sequence of thumbnail images corresponding to a portion of the set are initially displayed in a looping arrangement. A first thumbnail image of the sequence is displayed at a size larger than other thumbnail images of the sequence. The first thumbnail image corresponds to a focus position in the sequence. The arrangement responds to a user scrolling action to replace display of a second thumbnail image adjacent to an insertion point in the displayed sequence with a third thumbnail image corresponding to a media item of the set not displayed prior to the user action. The method then updates the focus position and insertion point and replaces a display of the first thumbnail image with display of a fourth thumbnail image corresponding to the updated focus position.

Method of browsing media items using thumbnails

A method of performing a zoom operation on a camera is disclosed, wherein, one or more regions of interest within a captured image of a scene are determined. Camera motion direction towards one of the regions of interest is determined. A target region of interest is determined based on the determined camera motion direction. The zoom operation is performed to the target region of interest.

Method, apparatus and system for performing a zoom operation

A method for clustering a plurality of content items. The method comprises, determining intervals between at least some of the content items, and then selecting a seed pair of content items using the determined intervals. The seed pair is then assigned to a current cluster, before an interval is determined between one of the content items in the current cluster and a neighboring one of the content items. The interval is then compared to a predetermined criterion in response to a successful comparison, the content item is assigned to the cluster.

Clustering of content items

A method of segmenting a compressed video containing a plurality of frames into a multi-level hierarchy of video segments. The method comprises the steps of determining differences between the size of successive compressed frames in media time. The method then groups the frames to create a hierarchy of clusters of successive frames as video segments using a clustering process. The clustering process uses the size differences to determine boundaries between clusters at each level of the hierarchy.

Method of segmenting videos into a hierarchy of segments

A method of retrieving a plurality of resource fragments from a audio-visual resource that is encoded using a hierarchical addressing model for the class of resources of which the audio-visual resource is a member is disclosed. The method comprises inputting a URI reference () comprising a Universal Resource Identifier () and a complex fragment identifier () comprising a plurality of audio-visual resource specific location steps. Thereafter the method comprises a step of locating the audio-visual resource using the Universal Resource Name, and establishing () a logical representation () of the structure of the audio-visual resource. Then the method iteratively evaluates the fragment identifier location steps () against the logical representation () to resolve the complex fragment identifier () into a set of explicit fragment references () configured to explicitly address each of the plurality of resource fragments.

Method for evaluating xpath-like fragment identifiers of audio-visual content

A method is disclosed that can be used to reduce the size of the indexesof structured-documents. The method uses the schemaof structured documents, in particular XML documents, to determine the existence of certain deterministic relationshipsamong the indexing components. Using such knowledge when indexing the data and formulating query execution plans can greatly reduce the size of the indicesand allow querying of such documents more efficiently.

Indexing and querying of structured documents

Disclosed is a method () for communicating at least part of a structure of a document () described by a hierarchical representation (). The method identifies () the hierarchical representation (eg. the tree structure) of the document (). The identification is preferably performed using XML tags. The representation is then packetized () into a plurality of data packets. At least one link is then created () between a pair of the packets, the link acting to represent an interconnection between corresponding components (eg. structure and content) of the representation. The packets are then formed () into a stream for communication. The links maintain the hierachical representation within the packets.

XML encoding scheme

A method of establishing at least one variable of a new view of data, is disclosed where the variable is obtained from at least one data source (-). The method identifies at least one display type (, FIG.), each display type having at least one corresponding template of data to be used by the new view of data. The template includes a plurality of data component slots (-) related according to the semantics of the identified display type. One or more data components to be included in the view of data are then identified, each identified data component being associated () with a slot in the template. A list of recommendations is then formed for one or more unspecified data components of the new view of data, the recommendations being based on the semantics of the display type and the identified data components. Finally at least one data component from the list of recommendations is identified as a variable for said new view of data. Also disclosed is a method of learning unknown relationships among data components across a plurality of heterogeneous data sources, and a method for recommending relevant data components for view creation across a plurality of heterogeneous data sources.

Method of using recommendations to visually create new views of data across heterogeneous sources

A process is disclosed for applying an audio-visual addressing scheme to locate fragments of audio-visual content. The process comprises a definition sub-process, an encoding sub-process, and a decoding sub-process. The definition sub-process defines a logical model for a class of audio-visual media. The logical model is used in the encoding sub-process for encoding an address for an audio-visual resource fragment belonging to the class of audio-visual media. The logical model is also used for locating the audio-visual resource fragment that is associated with the address.

Growing community of inventors

Carlingford, Australia

Ernest Yiu Cheong Wan