US 8,559,757 B1Granted

Photogrammetric method and system for stitching and stabilizing camera images

AssigneeExelis, Inc.

InventorsOmid Ebrahimi Kia, Shiloh L. Dockstader

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Abstract

A system for registration of images includes a processor for receiving a temporal sequence of frames from multiple cameras viewing a region of interest. The temporal sequence of frames obtained by one camera is precisely timed to the temporal sequence of frames obtained by the other cameras. The processor modifies the temporal sequence of frames into a hierarchical sequence of frames. The hierarchical sequence of frames includes at least first and second levels. The processor registers frames belonging in the first level separately from frames belonging in the second level. The first level includes frames having a first amount of pixel overlap between one frame and another frame, and the second level includes frames having a second amount of pixel overlap between one frame and another frame. The first amount of pixel overlap is greater than the second amount of pixel overlap. The system may also include a third level of frames, in which the third level includes frames having a third amount of pixel overlap between one frame and another frame. The third amount of pixel overlap is smaller than the first amount or the second amount.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A system for registration of frames obtained by multiple cameras comprising:

a processor for receiving a set of sequential frames from each of the cameras, each set of sequential frames having a sequence of time stamps that corresponds temporally to each other set of sequential frames obtained by each of the other cameras,
the processor selecting a number of frames, which is between one frame and less than a total number of frames in each set, and
the processor registering the selected number of frames in each set with the selected number of frames in each other set,
the processor selects at least one frame for a first set of sequential frames and at least one frame for a second set of sequential frames, wherein the at least one frame for the first set includes an overlap of pixels with the at least one frame for the second set of sequential frames, and
the selected at least one frame of the first set and the selected at least one frame of the second set are registered to each other;
and
the processor selects at least one frame for a third set of sequential frames and at least one frame for a fourth set of sequential frames, wherein the at least one frame for the third and fourth sets includes overlap of pixels only within each respective third and fourth sets, and
the selected frames within the third set and the selected frames within the fourth set are registered to each other only within each respective third and fourth sets.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.