Television – Image signal processing circuitry specific to television – Special effects
Patent
1998-03-31
2000-08-15
Hsia, Sherrie
Television
Image signal processing circuitry specific to television
Special effects
348592, 348239, H04N 975
Patent
active
061044385
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to image synthesizers and is suitably applicable, for example, in the case where an image by a live camera and an image by computer graphics are synthesized together in real time, by employing a chromakey technique, in a broadcasting studio and the like.
BACKGROUND ART
Hitherto, in broadcasting studios, a live image photographed with a live camera and a computer graphic image produced by a computer have been synthesized together by employing a chromakey technique, and the resultant synthesized image has been broadcasted.
For example, when producing with a chromakey technique an image such that a person is present in virtual space produced by computer graphics, a person is caused to stand in front of background with a predetermined hue (e.g., colors which are not contained in the image of a person, such as blue and green), and the person is photographed. Then, a key signal is produced from the video signal with the hue of the background as a reference, and based on the key signal, the background is replaced with an image produced by computer graphics. This makes it possible to synthesize a computer graphic image and a person together and produce such an image as if the person is present in virtual space produced by computer graphics.
Incidentally, in such a conventional image synthesizer employing a chromakey technique, when the camera is moved, there is the disadvantage that the synthesized background (i.e., an image produced by computer graphics in the aforementioned example) does not change in correspondence with the movement of the camera. If image synthesis can be performed so that the image of a synthesized background is also changed naturally in correspondence with such movement of the camera, it is believed that an image synthesized by this kind of image synthesis can be made even more realistic.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the aforementioned points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image synthesizer in which an image of background which is synthesized can also be changed naturally in correspondence with movement of a photographing means, with simple constitution.
In the present invention for overcoming such problems, in an image synthesizer for detecting an area photographing a processing object area having a predetermined hue from video data obtained through photographing means, inserting another image in the area, and then producing a synthesized image, the synthesizer is provided with illumination means for forming on the processing object area a light source image having the same hue as the processing object area, position detection means for detecting position information of the photographing means with respect to the processing object area with the light source images as a reference, and image production means for changing the other image in correspondence with position change of the photographing means with the position information as a reference.
In this way, the position of the photographing means with respect to the processing object area is detected with the light source image as a reference, and another image which is inserted according to a change in the detected position of the photographing means is changed. Therefore, when the photographing means is moved, an image which is inserted is also changed according to the movement, and consequently, a synthesized image with no feeling of physical disorder is obtainable. If done in this way, an image synthesizer in which an image of background which is synthesized can also be changed naturally in correspondence with movement of a photographing means can be realized with simple constitution.
In addition, in the present invention, in an image synthesizer for detecting an area photographing a processing object area having a predetermined hue from input video data, inserting another image in the area, and then producing a synthesized image, the image synthesizer is provided with: illumination means for forming on the pro
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patent: 4951040 (1990-08-01), McNeil et al.
patent: 5056928 (1991-10-01), Aoki et al.
patent: 5886747 (1999-03-01), Tzidon
Chang Dexter T.
Frommer William S.
Hsia Sherrie
Sony Corporation
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