# US 12,192,519 B2 · Non-binary occupancy map for video based point cloud coding

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- Number: US 12,192,519 B2
- Document ID: US12192519B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/496,270
- Filed: 2021-10-07
- Published: 2022-12-08
- Granted: 2025-01-07
- Earliest claimed: 2021-06-04
- Assignees: Tencent America LLC
- Applicants: Tencent America LLC
- Inventors: Xiang Zhang; Weiwei Feng; Wen Gao; Shan Liu; Bing Jian
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12192519B2

## CPC

- H04N 19/597: specially adapted for multi-view video sequence encoding
- G06T 9/001: {Model-based coding, e.g. wire frame}
- H04N 19/105: Selection of the reference unit for prediction within a chosen coding or prediction mode, e.g. adaptive choice of position and number of pixels used for prediction
- H04N 19/176: the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
- H04N 19/182: the unit being a pixel
- H04N 19/70: characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL

## Abstract

Methods and apparatuses of encoding a video stream encoded using video point cloud coding include obtaining a source point cloud; generating an occupancy map including one or more pixels based on the source point cloud, an occupancy value associated with each pixel being a non-binary value; encoding the occupancy map to generate an encoded occupancy map, wherein a block of the encoded occupancy map corresponds to the one or more pixels of the occupancy map; selecting an occupancy value of the block based on the one or more pixels; and generating an encoded video stream based on the selected occupancy value.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of encoding a video stream encoded using video point cloud coding, the method being performed by at least one processor and comprising:
obtaining a source point cloud;
generating an occupancy map based on the source point cloud;
encoding the occupancy map to generate an encoded occupancy map, wherein a block of the encoded occupancy map corresponds to a plurality of pixels of the occupancy map;
selecting an occupancy value of the block based on the plurality of pixels, wherein the occupancy value is a non-binary value, wherein each bit of the occupancy value indicates an occupancy pattern of a corresponding subset of two or more pixels of the plurality of pixels, wherein a number of the plurality of pixels is 16 and a number of bits of the non-binary value is 4, and wherein each bit of the non-binary value corresponds to an occupancy status of 4 pixels; and
generating an encoded video stream based on the selected occupancy value.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a most significant bit of the occupancy value is used to signal an occupancy of a top-left pixel of the plurality of pixels,
wherein a least significant bit of the occupancy value is used to signal an occupancy of a bottom-right pixel of the plurality of pixels, and
wherein remaining bits of the occupancy value are used to signal remaining pixels of the plurality of pixels in a raster scan order.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded occupancy map is encoded using lossy coding.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded occupancy map is encoded using lossless coding.

### Claim 5

An apparatus for encoding a video stream using video point cloud coding, the apparatus comprising:
at least one memory configured to store program code; and
at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code comprising:
first obtaining code configured to cause the at least one processor to obtain a source point cloud;
first generating code configured to cause the at least one processor to generate an occupancy map based on the source point cloud;
encoding code configured to cause the at least one processor to encode the occupancy map to generate an encoded occupancy map, wherein a block of the encoded occupancy map corresponds to a plurality of pixels of the occupancy map;
selecting code configured to cause the at least one processor to select an occupancy value of the block based on the plurality of pixels, wherein the occupancy value is a non-binary value, wherein each bit of the occupancy value indicates an occupancy pattern of a corresponding subset of two or more pixels of the plurality of pixels, wherein a number of the plurality of pixels is 16 and a number of bits of the non-binary value is 4, and wherein each bit of the non-binary value corresponds to an occupancy status of 4 pixels; and
second generating code configured to cause the at least one processor to generate an encoded video stream based on the selected occupancy value.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the encoded occupancy map is encoded using lossy coding.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the encoded occupancy map is encoded using lossless coding.

### Claim 8

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer instructions encoding a video stream using video point cloud coding that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
obtain a source point cloud;
generate an occupancy map based on the source point cloud;
encode the occupancy map to generate an encoded occupancy map, wherein a block of the encoded occupancy map corresponds to a plurality of pixels of the occupancy map;
select an occupancy value of the block based on the plurality of pixels, wherein the occupancy value is a non-binary value, wherein each bit of the occupancy value indicates an occupancy pattern of a corresponding subset of two or more pixels of the plurality of pixels, wherein a number of the plurality of pixels is 16 and a number of bits of the non-binary value is 4, and wherein each bit of the non-binary value corresponds to an occupancy status of 4 pixels; and
generate an encoded video stream based on the selected occupancy value.