US 11,711,484 B2
System and method for image stitching
Robert Pilgrim, Benton, KY (US); Roy Brown, Huntsville, AL (US); Chuck Bryant, Huntsville, AL (US); Lee Gay, Huntsville, AL (US); and Glenn Hembree, Mobile, AL (US)
Assigned to Bevilacqua Research Corp, Huntsville, AL (US)
Filed by Bevilacqua Research Corporation, Inc, Huntsville, AL (US)
Filed on Dec. 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/88,090.
Application 18/088,090 is a continuation of application No. 17/540,247, filed on Dec. 2, 2021, granted, now 11,582,403.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/173,222, filed on Apr. 9, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/120,324, filed on Dec. 2, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0134405 A1, May 4, 2023
Int. Cl. H04N 5/265 (2006.01); H04N 5/232 (2006.01); H04N 5/247 (2006.01); H04N 23/80 (2023.01); H04N 23/90 (2023.01)
CPC H04N 5/265 (2013.01) [H04N 23/80 (2023.01); H04N 23/90 (2023.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of configuring a system for performing image stitching, comprising:
positioning one or more imagers for working in coordination with one or more custom modules, each imager corresponding with one custom module;
searching a first frame for a partial patch within that frame for detail and edges and color changes and transitions in just that partial patch, according to predetermined selection criteria;
selecting the partial patches according to which contain sufficient detail to be unlikely to make an accidental match with a following or adjoining frame, according to the predetermined selection criteria;
within the chosen (first) frame, once selected, setting up a plurality of boundary blocks for marking out the selected partial patch;
bringing a second frame that is similar to the first frame into the system;
searching the second frame for any small patch that has the characteristics of the selected partial patch within the first frame according to the predetermined selection criteria;
finding a matching second patch within the second frame;
once the matching second patch within the second frame is found, performing image stitching on both images; and
displaying the altered images on a computer display;
in a situation with two or more imagers, arranging the one or more custom modules for capturing and processing approximately one third the Field of View (FoV) of each imager in either a still frame context or a serious of video images in a sequenced frame context, thereby avoiding gaps in a resulting captured view;
the two or more imagers achieving two thirds overlap between FoVs thereby minimizing any degrading of the resulting images yet still achieving full 360 degree coverage;
pixel-diffing the partial patches;
summing an absolute 2D pixel-to-pixel differences;
finding a first partial patch with the maximum summed value in a first frame;
comparing the partial patch to a search region of the second frame to find a second partial patch with a minimum absolute summed difference; and
selecting an optimum second partial match within the second frame for later image stitching.