Image editing system for taking a background and inserting part of an image therein

A gamma correlator, comprising:

• means for measuring a gamma of each pixel of an object in a first image and for measuring the gamma of each pixel of a background in a second image;
• means for shifting the gamma of at least one selected pixel of the object or at least one selected pixel of one of a plurality of stored backgrounds to substantially equal the gamma of the other;
• and
• means for shifting a first gamma of a selected object and a second gamma of a selected background to a third gamma of a lighting environment distinguishable from lighting conditions of the selected object and the selected background.

A method for generating an edited digital image from a first digital image, the first digital image including an object having a first hue and a background having a second hue, the method comprising the steps of:

• detecting in the first image an edge defined by the difference in hue between the object and the background;
• comparing the hues of each background pixel with one of the object pixels of a predetermined hue, thereby mapping background pixels in an immediate vicinity of the edge of the first digital image;
• and
• selectively removing the background from the first digital image by setting the mapped background pixels to a preselected transparent value so as to only retain substantially the entire object in the first digital image.

A method of integrating a digital image of an object into a digital image of a background, comprising the steps of:

• measuring the gamma of the object in a first hue;
• measuring the gamma of the background in a second hue;
• and
• shifting the gamma of a selected one of the object or the background to alternatively (i) substantially equal the gamma of the other or (ii) shift a first gamma of a selected object and a second gamma of a selected background to a third gamma of a lighting environment distinguishable from lighting conditions of the selected object or the selected background.

A system for selectively combining digital images, comprising:

• a processor having a memory for storing a first digital image having a plurality of pixels, wherein the first digital image includes an object bordered by an edge having a first hue, and a background having a second hue which can be any desired color;
• means for locating the edge in the first digital image by comparing, for background pixels and some of, but not all, the object pixels, the hues of the pixels with a predetermined hue, wherein each hue is characterized by a numeric value;
• means for removing the background from the first digital image using the located edge;
• and
• means for combining the object with a second digital image, wherein the combining means includes means for averaging the hue of the edge and the hue of the second digital image so as to generate an averaged hue, wherein the averaged hue replaces the edge and thereby produces a blended object.

An image combiner, comprising:

• a processor for receiving a signal representative of a first digital image, the signal including an object component representative of an object, the object being bordered by an edge having a first hue, the signal also including a background component representative of a background having a second hue, wherein the processor includes means for separating the background from the object by determining the location of the edge of the object and then removing all portions of the first digital image which are outside the edge from all the portions of the first digital image which are inside the edge, wherein the first digital image has a periphery, and the processor further comprises:
• means for determining the difference between the hue of a portion of the periphery and a predetermined hue;
• means for comparing the difference to a predetermined difference;
• wherein when the difference exceeds the predetermined difference, the processor identifies the location of the portion of the periphery as the location of a portion of the object, and then compares the hue of other portions of the periphery with the predetermined hue;
• wherein when the difference is less than the predetermined difference, the processor compares the hue of inwardly succeeding portions, relative to the periphery, of the first digital image with the predetermined hue until the difference between a portion of the first digital image and the predetermined hue exceeds the predetermined difference;
• and
• wherein the background includes a plurality of two-dimensional boxes, each box having a plurality of dots therein, the processor having an image of the background stored in memory, the stored image corresponding to the first digital image, wherein the processor compares the hue of at least some of the first video image with the hue of the corresponding portions of the image of the background stored in memory to determine the location of the edge of the object, thereby mapping the entire edge of the object.

A method for generating an edited digital image from a first digital image, the first digital image including an object having a first hue and a background having a second hue, and further including a second digital image having a third hue, the method comprising the steps of:

• detecting in the first image an edge defined by the difference in hue between the object and the background;
• selectively removing the background from the first digital image so as to retain substantially the entire object in the first digital image;
• overlaying the object from the first digital image on the second digital image;
• and
• averaging the hue of the object and the second digital image along the edge of the object, thereby producing a blended object in the second digital image.