Temporal motion vector filtering

A method for performing temporal motion vector filtering in a digital video sequence, comprising:

• receiving a plurality of vectors, the vectors representing potential motion vectors for an image patch including one or more of an object and a background;
• partitioning the plurality of vectors into two or more vector clusters;
• determining a representative vector for each vector cluster;
• testing each representative vector to determine which representative vector most accurately reflects a displacement of the image patch between a first frame and a second frame of the digital video, including:
• for each representative vector:
• centering a first window on a pixel that forms an origin of the representative vector;
• centering a second window on a pixel that forms an end point of the representative vector;
• determining a sum of absolute differences of luma values for the pixels in the first window and pixels at corresponding positions in the second window;
• and
• selecting as the representative vector most accurately reflects a displacement of the image patch the representative vector that has a minimum sum of absolute differences;
• and
• selecting as a motion vector the representative vector that most accurately reflects the displacement of the image patch.

A computer program product for performing temporal motion vector filtering in a digital video sequence, comprising at least one computer-readable medium having a plurality of computer program instructions stored therein, which are configured to cause at least one computing device to:

• receive a plurality of vectors, the vectors representing potential motion vectors for an image patch including one or more of an object and a background;
• partition the plurality of vectors into two or more vector clusters, including;
• determine a first seed vector for a first cluster and a second seed vector for a second cluster by identifying two vectors among the plurality of vectors that are furthest apart from each other;
• and
• for each other vector in the plurality of vectors:
• place the vector into the first cluster if the vector is closest to the first seed vector;
• and
• place the vector into the second cluster if the vector is closest to the second seed vector;
• determine a representative vector for each vector cluster;
• test each representative vector to determine which representative vector most accurately reflects a displacement of the image patch between a first frame and a second frame of the digital video;
• and
• select as a motion vector the representative vector that most accurately reflects the displacement of the image patch.

A computer program product for performing temporal motion vector filtering in a digital video sequence, comprising at least one computer-readable medium having a plurality of computer program instructions stored therein, which are configured to cause at least one computing device to:

• receive a plurality of vectors, the vectors representing potential motion vectors for an image patch including one or more of an object and a background;
• partition the plurality of vectors into two or more vector clusters, including;
• determine a representative vector for each vector cluster;
• test each representative vector to determine which representative vector most accurately reflects a displacement of the image patch between a first frame and a second frame of the digital video, including:
• for each representative vector:
• center a first window on a pixel that forms an origin of the representative vector;
• center a second window on a pixel that forms an end point of the representative vector;
• determine a sum of absolute differences of luma values for the pixels in the first window and pixels at corresponding positions in the second window;
• and
• select as the representative vector most accurately reflects a displacement of the image patch the representative vector that has a minimum sum of absolute differences;
• and
• select as a motion vector the representative vector that most accurately reflects the displacement of the image patch.