US 12,075,020 B2
Active stereo matching for depth applications
Michael Bleyer, Seattle, WA (US); Yuri Pekelny, Seattle, WA (US); and Raymond Kirk Price, Redmond, WA (US)
Assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed by Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed on Nov. 7, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/981,781.
Application 17/146,232 is a division of application No. 15/928,868, filed on Mar. 22, 2018, granted, now 10,944,957, issued on Mar. 9, 2021.
Application 17/981,781 is a continuation of application No. 17/146,232, filed on Jan. 11, 2021, granted, now 11,533,466.
Prior Publication US 2023/0069179 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04N 13/271 (2018.01); G06F 3/01 (2006.01); G06F 3/0346 (2013.01); G06T 7/593 (2017.01); G06T 15/04 (2011.01); G06T 19/00 (2011.01); G09G 3/02 (2006.01); H04N 5/33 (2023.01); H04N 13/239 (2018.01); H04N 13/254 (2018.01); G02B 27/01 (2006.01); H04N 13/00 (2018.01)
CPC H04N 13/271 (2018.05) [G06F 3/012 (2013.01); G06F 3/0346 (2013.01); G06T 7/593 (2017.01); G06T 15/04 (2013.01); G06T 19/006 (2013.01); G09G 3/025 (2013.01); H04N 5/33 (2013.01); H04N 13/239 (2018.05); H04N 13/254 (2018.05); G02B 2027/0138 (2013.01); G02B 2027/014 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10048 (2013.01); H04N 2013/0081 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system that adjusts a depth map in an attempt to eliminate a potential jitter effect caused when a difference in depth values between neighboring pixels exceeds a difference threshold, the system comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one hardware storage device that stores instructions that are executable by the at least one processor to cause the system to:
access a depth map that includes a plurality of pixels comprising depth values, wherein a first set of the pixels in the depth map correspond to a virtual object that is generated by the system such that the first set of pixels correspond to virtualized image content, and wherein a second set of the pixels in the depth map correspond to a real-world object that is included in an environment in which the system is operating such that the second set of pixels correspond to real-world content;
identify, from within the depth map, a pair of neighboring pixels comprising a first pixel having a first depth value and a second pixel having a second depth value, wherein the first pixel is included in the first set of pixels corresponding to the virtualized content, and wherein the second pixel is included in the second set of pixels corresponding to the real-world content;
determine that a difference between the first depth value and the second depth value exceeds a predefined difference threshold, wherein said difference indicates that a depth of the virtual object is different than a depth of the real-world object relative to the system; and
based on said determination that the difference between the first depth value and the second depth value exceeds the predefined difference threshold, adjust the depth map to eliminate a potential for a jitter effect for the virtual object, where the jitter effect involves the system repeatedly adjusting the depth of the virtual object in an attempt to account for the difference between the depth of the virtual object and the depth of the real-world object.