System and method for generating and displaying panoramic images and movies

A system for generating a stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair comprising:

• A. a strip generator module configured to generate two series of image strips, all of said image strips in each series comprising strips of a series of images of a scene as would be recorded by a camera from a respective series of positions relative to the scene, the image strips of the respective series representing strips of the respective images displaced from one another by at least two selected displacements;
• B. a mosaic image generator module configured to mosaic the respective series of images strips together thereby to construct two panoramic mosaic images, the panoramic mosaic images comprising the stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair providing a stereoscopic image of the scene.

A method of generating a stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair comprising the steps of:

• A. a strip generation step of generating two series of image strips, all of said image strips in each series comprising strips of a series of images of a scene as would be recorded by a camera from a respective series of positions relative to the scene, the image strips of the respective series representing strips of the respective images displaced from one another by at least one selected displacement;
• and
• B. a mosaic image generation step of mosaicing the respective series of images strips together thereby to construct two panoramic mosaic images, the panoramic mosaic images comprising the stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair providing a stereoscopic image of the scene as recorded over the path.

A method for generating a stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair comprising:

• A. a strip generation step of generating two series of image strips, all of said image strips in each series comprising strips of a series of images of a scene as would be recorded by a camera from a respective series of positions relative to the scene, the image strips of the respective series representing strips of the respective images displaced from one another by at least two selected displacements;
• and
• B. a mosaic image generation step of mosaicing the respective series of images strips together thereby to construct two panoramic mosaic images, the panoramic mosaic images comprising the stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair providing a stereoscopic image of the scene.

A method of displaying a stereo panoramic image to a viewer on a panoramic screen, said method comprising the steps of:

• A. using a plurality of projectors each disposed to project a respective portion of one of a plurality panoramic images in overlapping fashion on the screen;
• and
• C. using a viewing arrangement to facilitate transmission of a respective one of said images to each of the viewer's eyes thereby to facilitate stereoscopic viewing of the panoramic image defined by the respective panoramic images.

A method displaying a stereo panoramic image to a viewer on a panoramic screen, said method comprising the steps of:

• A. using a plurality of projectors each configured to project a respective portion of a panoramic image on the screen, the panoramic image comprising alternating portions of panoramic images each to be alternatingly viewed by respective ones of a viewers eyes;
• and
• C. using a viewing arrangement for facilitating alternating transmission of the respective alternating portions to respective ones of the viewer's eyes thereby to facilitate stereoscopic viewing of the panoramic image.

A computer program product for use in connection with a computer to provide a system for generating a stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having encoded thereon:

• A. a strip generator module configured to enable the computer to generate two series of image strips, all of said image strips in each series comprising strips of a series of images of a scene as would be recorded by a camera from a respective series of positions relative to the scene, the image strips of the respective series representing strips of the respective images displaced from one another by at least one selected displacement;
• and
• B. a mosaic image generator module configured to enable the computer to mosaic the respective series of images strips together thereby to construct two panoramic mosaic images, the panoramic mosaic images comprising the stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair providing a stereoscopic image of the scene as recorded over the path.

A computer program product for use in connection with a computer to provide a system for generating a stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair, the computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having encoded thereon:

• A. a strip generator module configured to enable the computer to generate two series of image strips, all of said image strips in each series comprising strips of a series of images of a scene as would be recorded by a camera from a respective series of positions relative to the scene, the image strips of the respective series representing strips of the respective images displaced from one another by at least two selected displacements;
• B. a mosaic image generator module configured to enable the computer to mosaic the respective series of images strips together thereby to construct two panoramic mosaic images, the panoramic mosaic images comprising the stereoscopic panoramic mosaic image pair providing a stereoscopic image of the scene.