Image analysis – Image compression or coding
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-27
2001-06-12
Couso, Jose L. (Department: 2621)
Image analysis
Image compression or coding
C382S248000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246796
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for efficiently compressing or encoding image data or storing or transmitting these data, using holographic fringe patterns.
This application is based on patent application No. Hei
9-137372
and No Hei 10-6216 filed in Japan, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Holography refers to a technique for reproducing wave fronts from physical objects by means of light diffraction. Commonly, this has developed as a method of positioning for stereoscopic photography. On the other hand, the hologram is a technique for recording optical holographic fringe patterns; these can be determined by means of calculations if the shape of a physical object to be displayed, the wavelength of reference light, and the like, are known. This has been the subject of research for a long period of time in the field of computer holograms. An important merit of such technology is that it is possible to produce a holographic fringe pattern by means of calculations even for objects which do not actually exist; the chief development of such technology has been in fields other than stereoscopic display such as optical communication devices, optical pickups for CD ROM devices, and the like.
An important feature of such holograms other than those used for stereoscopic display is the data redundancy thereof. In other words, there is little effect on the reproduced image even if a portion of the hologram is deleted. As a result, by recording three-dimensional data and image data as holographic fringe patterns, it is possible to achieve techniques which simultaneously support conventional image compression and encoding functions. However, in order to display the holographic fringe patterns as holograms, it is necessary to display the holographic fringe patterns, which contain an enormous number of pixels, in high resolution apparatuses. For this reason, commonly, it is not merely the case that the construction of display apparatuses for computer holograms is difficult, but also the amount of data required to produce the holographic fringe patterns themselves is enormous. For this reason, almost no research has been conducted into image compression/encoding technology employing such holograms.
Even if high resolution apparatuses have been realized as a result of recent developments in electrical display technology, the problem still remains that the amount of data corresponding to an image (a holographic fringe pattern) is enormous. For example, in the case of a 5 inch screen, approximately 8 G pixels or more are required to display a hologram. In contrast, HDTV requires about 2 M pixels, so that approximately 4,000 times the amount of data is required for one image. Conventionally, even if large capacity transmission technologies employing optical fibers or the like were established, the data compression technologies involved constitute difficult problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was created in light of the above problems; it has as an object thereof the savings of transmission capacity during the transmission of three-dimensional image data realized by means of complex amplitudes.
For this reason, the present invention provides an image transmission method in which three-dimensional data of an object recorded as a holographic fringe pattern by means of reference light and light from the object are transmitted sequentially, and at the receiving side, the holographic fringe patterns received are displayed sequentially and with reference to the reproduced light, and the object is displayed in a three-dimensional manner; wherein, at the transmission side, the following processes are executed: a process in which the image of the holographic fringe pattern expressed in terms of complex numbers is resolved into an amplitude component image and a phase component image, a process in which the high frequency component of the spatial frequency in the amplitude component image resolved in this way is reduced, processing for converting the gradation in the phase component image is carried out, and each image is compressed and encoded after this processing, and a process in which the image data of the two components compressed and encoded in this way are separately transmitted; while on the receiving side, the following processes are executed: a process in which the image data of the two components, which were separately transmitted, are received, a process in which the received image data are decoded sequentially into an amplitude component image and a phase component image, and a process in which the decoded amplitude component image and phase component image are again combined into a complex component and displayed; the present invention also provides a recording medium for recording image transmission programs which permits the processes above to be executed by a computer.
Furthermore, an apparatus for the transmission of images by means of phase/amplitude processing which is provided with, on the transmission side, a section for inputting complex amplitude holographic fringe pattern images, a section for resolving the holographic fringe pattern images into a phase component image and an amplitude component image, a section for conducting image processing which reduces the high frequency component of the spatial frequency in the amplitude component image result which was resolved in this manner, a section for conducting image processing which executes gradation conversion of the phase component image which was resolved in this manner, and a section for compressing and encoding the component images subjected to image processing in this manner, are provided, and which is provided with, on the receiving side, a section for decoding the compressed and encoded image data into a phase component image and an amplitude component image, and a section for synthesizing the decoded phase component image and amplitude component image into a complex amplitude image, is provided.
In this way, by conducting processing which preserves the characteristic features of the phase component image and the amplitude component image, it is possible to reduce the redundant portion, and it is possible to further increase the compression ratio during transmission without negatively affecting the image quality of the reproduced image.
Furthermore, the present invention has as an object thereof, in view of the above points, the efficient encryption of three-dimensional or two-dimensional image data using holographic fringe patterns.
For this reason, the present invention provides a method for storing or processing images in which image data are converted, wherein are provided: a process in which three-dimensional or two-dimensional image data are set in a certain spatial position, and by referring to reference light specific to the image and producing a projected image by means of light passing through the image or reflected light, an image is obtained having complex amplitude values, and a process in which two types of images, in which each pixel of the projected image having a complex amplitude value thus determined is resolved into a real number part and an imaginary number part, and the calculation parameters for producing the projected image, are stored or transmitted; the present invention also provides a recording medium for recording image processing programs which permit the processes described above to be executed by a computer.
Furthermore, an image processing apparatus is provided which is provided with: an image conversion section for producing the projected image of an inputted image using prespecified calculation parameters, a section for determining the calculation parameters, and one or both of a section for storing the projected image and the calculation parameters, and a section for transmitting the projected image and the calculation parameters.
By means of this, it is possible to realize the transmission, reception, and storage of image data which are encryp
Akimoto Takaaki
Higuchi Kazuhito
Horikoshi Tsutomu
Suzuki Satoshi
Couso Jose L.
Dang Duy M.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
Pennie & Edmonds LLP
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