Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program and recording medium used therewith

An image processing method for an image processing apparatus for acquiring and transforming first plane image data representing a space having a depth, the image processing method comprising:

• estimating a vanishing point based on an imaged subject of the first plane image data, wherein the vanishing point is a point in the image data at which, when parallel lines in a three-dimensional space based on objects already contained in the image data are projected onto an image plane by perspective transformation, straight lines on the image plane which correspond to the parallel lines converge;
• estimating an angle of view of the first plane image data;
• and
• generating, by a processor, second plane image data corresponding to the first plane image data projected onto a portion corresponding to the estimated angle of view of a curved surface of a cylinder having a predetermined radius, based on the vanishing point, the angle of view, and a reference point, a position of the reference point being at a center of the cylinder and at a height equal to the estimated vanishing point,
• wherein the estimating a vanishing point further includes
• extracting perspective lines from the imaged subject of the first plane image data, and
• calculating the vanishing point based on the perspective lines.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by an arithmetic processor, direct the arithmetic processor to execute processing for acquiring and transforming first plane image data representing a space having a depth, the processing comprising:

• estimating a vanishing point based on an imaged subject of the first plane image data, wherein the vanishing point is a point in the image data at which, when parallel lines in a three-dimensional space based on objects already contained in the image data are projected onto an image plane by perspective transformation, straight lines on the image plane which correspond to the parallel lines converge;
• estimating an angle of view of the first plane image data;
• and
• generating second plane image data corresponding to the first plane image data projected onto a portion corresponding to the estimated angle of view of a curved surface of a cylinder having a predetermined radius, based on the vanishing point, the angle of view, and a reference point, a position of the reference point being at a center of the cylinder and at a height equal to the estimated vanishing point,
• wherein the estimating a vanishing point further includes
• extracting perspective lines from the imaged subject of the first plane image data, and
• calculating the vanishing point based on the perspective lines.

An image processing apparatus for acquiring and transforming first plane image data representing a space having a depth, the image processing apparatus comprising:

• a vanishing point estimating section configured to estimate a vanishing point based on an imaged subject of the first plane image data, wherein the vanishing point is a point in the image data at which, when parallel lines in a three-dimensional space based on objects already contained in the image data are projected onto an image plane by perspective transformation, straight lines on the image plane which correspond to the parallel lines converge;
• an angle-of-view estimating section configured to estimate an angle of view of the first plane image data;
• and
• an image generating section configured to generate second plane image data corresponding to the first plane image data projected onto a portion corresponding to the estimated angle of view of a curved surface of a cylinder having a predetermined radius, based on the vanishing point, the angle of view, and a reference point, a position of the reference point being at a center of the cylinder and at a height equal to the estimated vanishing point,
• wherein the vanishing point estimating section further comprises
• a depth-direction parallel-line extracting unit configured to extract perspective lines from the imaged subject of the first plane image data, and
• a vanishing point calculating unit configured to calculate the vanishing point based on the perspective lines.