Method and system for reconstructing a stereoscopic image stream from quincunx sampled frames

A method for reconstructing a stereoscopic image stream from a plurality of compressed frames using a stereoscopic image processor, each compressed frame comprising of a merged image formed by juxtaposing a sampled image frame of a left image and a sampled image frame of a right image, each sampled image frame having half a number of original pixels disposed at intersections of a plurality of horizontal lines and a plurality of vertical lines in a staggered quincunx pattern in which original pixels surround missing pixels, the method comprising:

• for a missing pixel located at an intersection of an nth horizontal line among an (n−1)th to an (n+1)th adjacent horizontal lines and an nth vertical line among an (n−2)th to an (n+2)th adjacent vertical lines:
• providing a first intermediate value according to a first horizontal pixel pair having a first pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n−1)th vertical line and a second pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n+1)th vertical line, and then storing the first intermediate in a storage unit;
• providing a second intermediate value according to a first vertical pixel pair having a third pixel located at an intersection of the (n−1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line and a fourth pixel located at an intersection of the (n+1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line, and then storing the second intermediate in the storage unit;
• providing a horizontal sensitivity parameter according to the first horizontal pixel pair, at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n−1)th horizontal line and at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n+1)th horizontal line, and then storing the horizontal sensitivity parameter in the storage unit;
• providing the vertical sensitivity parameter according to the first vertical pixel pair, a second vertical pixel pair having a fifth pixel and a seventh pixel, and a third vertical pixel pair having a sixth pixel and an eighth pixel, wherein:
• the fifth pixel is located at an intersection of the (n−1)th horizontal line and the (n−2)th vertical line;
• the sixth pixel is located at an intersection of the (n−1)th horizontal line and the (n+2)th vertical line;
• the seventh pixel is located at an intersection of the (n+1)th horizontal line and the (n−2)th vertical line;
• and
• the eighth pixel is located at an intersection of the (n+1)th horizontal line and the (n+2)th vertical line;
• and
• reconstructing the missing pixel by weighting the first intermediate value and the second intermediate value according to the horizontal sensitivity parameter and the vertical sensitivity parameter.

A method for reconstructing a stereoscopic image stream from a plurality of compressed frames using a stereoscopic image processor, each compressed frame comprising a merged image formed by juxtaposing a sampled image frame of a left image and a sampled image frame of a right image, each sampled image frame having half a number of original pixels disposed at intersections of a plurality of horizontal lines and a plurality of vertical lines in a staggered quincunx pattern in which original pixels surround missing pixels, the method comprising:

• for a missing pixel located at an intersection of an nth horizontal line among an (n−1)th to an (n+1)th adjacent horizontal lines and an nth vertical line among an (n−2)th to an (n+2)th adjacent vertical lines:
• providing a first intermediate value according to a first horizontal pixel pair having a first pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n−1)th vertical line and a second pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n+1)th vertical line, and then storing the first intermediate in a storage unit;
• providing a second intermediate value according to a first vertical pixel pair having a third pixel located at an intersection of the (n−1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line and a fourth pixel located at an intersection of the (n+1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line, and then storing the second intermediate in the storage unit;
• providing a horizontal sensitivity parameter according to the first horizontal pixel pair, at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n−1)th horizontal line and at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n+1)th horizontal line, and then storing the horizontal sensitivity parameter in the storage unit;
• providing a vertical sensitivity parameter according to the first vertical pixel pair, at least two neighboring pixels located along the (n−2)th vertical line and at least two neighboring pixels located along the (n+2)th vertical line, and then storing the vertical sensitivity parameter in the storage unit;
• and
• reconstructing the missing pixel by averaging the first intermediate value and the second intermediate value when a sum of the horizontal sensitivity parameter and the vertical sensitivity parameter is equal to zero.

A method for reconstructing a stereoscopic image stream from a plurality of compressed frames using a stereoscopic image processor, each compressed frame comprising a merged image formed by juxtaposing a sampled image frame of a left image and a sampled image frame of a right image, each sampled image frame having half a number of original pixels disposed at intersections of a plurality of horizontal lines and a plurality of vertical lines in a staggered quincunx pattern in which original pixels surround missing pixels, the method comprising:

• for a missing pixel located at an intersection of an nth horizontal line among an (n−1)th to an (n+1)th adjacent horizontal lines and an nth vertical line among an (n−2)th to an (n+2)th adjacent vertical lines:
• providing a first intermediate value according to a first horizontal pixel pair having a first pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n−1)th vertical line and a second pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n+1)th vertical line, and then storing the first intermediate in a storage unit;
• providing a second intermediate value according to a first vertical pixel pair having a third pixel located at an intersection of the (n−1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line and a fourth pixel located at an intersection of the (n+1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line, and then storing the second intermediate in the storage unit;
• providing a horizontal sensitivity parameter according to the first horizontal pixel pair, at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n−1)th horizontal line and at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n+1)th horizontal line, and then storing the horizontal sensitivity parameter in the storage unit;
• providing a vertical sensitivity parameter according to the first vertical pixel pair, at least two neighboring pixels located along the (n−2)th vertical line and at least two neighboring pixels located along the (n+2)th vertical line, and then storing the vertical sensitivity parameter in the storage unit;
• and
• reconstructing the missing pixel by calculating (M1*WV+M2*WH)/(WH+WV) when a sum of the horizontal sensitivity parameter and the vertical sensitivity parameter is not equal to zero, wherein M1 represents the first intermediate value, M2 represents the second intermediate value, WH represents the horizontal sensitivity parameter, and WV represents the vertical sensitivity parameter.

A system for reconstructing a stereoscopic image stream from a plurality of compressed frames, the system comprising:

• an image source for providing the plurality of compressed frames each comprising a merged image formed by juxtaposing a sampled image frame of a left image and a sampled image frame of a right image, each sampled image frame having half a number of original pixels disposed at intersections of a plurality of horizontal lines and a plurality of vertical lines in a staggered quincunx pattern in which original pixels surround missing pixels;
• a stereoscopic image processor comprising:
• an input buffer for receiving the plurality of compressed frames;
• a spatial interpolator configured to perform following steps for a missing pixel located at an intersection of an nth horizontal line among an (n−1)th to an (n+1)th adjacent horizontal lines and an nth vertical line among an (n−2)th to an (n+2)th adjacent vertical lines:
• providing a first intermediate value according to a first horizontal pixel pair having a first pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n−1)th vertical line and a second pixel located at an intersection of the nth horizontal line and the (n+1)th vertical line;
• providing a second intermediate value according to a first vertical pixel pair having a third pixel located at an intersection of the (n−1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line and a fourth pixel located at an intersection of the (n+1)th horizontal line and the nth vertical line;
• providing a horizontal sensitivity parameter according to the first horizontal pixel pair, at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n−1)th horizontal line and at least three neighboring pixels located along the (n+1)th horizontal line;
• providing a vertical sensitivity parameter according to the first vertical pixel pair, at least two neighboring pixels located along the (n−2)th vertical line and at least two neighboring pixels located along the (n+2)th vertical line;
• and
• reconstructing the missing pixel by weighting the first intermediate value and the second intermediate value according to the horizontal sensitivity parameter and the vertical sensitivity parameter;
• and
• generating the stereoscopic image stream according to the reconstructed pixel associated with the missing pixel;
• a storage unit configured to store the first intermediate value, the second intermediate value, the horizontal sensitivity parameter and the vertical sensitivity parameter;
• and
• an output buffer for outputting the stereoscopic image stream.