Granted Patent B2

US 7,894,682 · App. 12/166,861 · Granted Feb 22, 2011

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A method comprising:

receiving an image sequence that is compressed based on a plurality of foveation zones; and

decompressing, by a processor, the received image sequence;

wherein a first foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a first view location and a second foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a second view location; and

wherein, during a portion of the image sequence, the first and second view locations occur concurrently.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

displaying the decompressed image sequence.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

compressing the image sequence based on the plurality of foveation zones; and

transmitting the compressed image sequence.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein compressing the image sequence based on the plurality of foveation zones comprises:

determining view locations within the plurality of foveation zones for a sample of viewers.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein compressing the image sequence based on the plurality of foveation zones comprises:

estimating a probability of a viewer looking at the first view location and the second view location based at least in part on a scene type occurring during the portion of the image sequence where the first and second view locations occur concurrently; and

weighting at least the first and second foveation zones based on the probability.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of foveation zones is definable by a continuous falloff function.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of foveation zones is associated with a corresponding half-resolution constant based on a probability of a viewer looking at the view location corresponding to the foveation zone.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the probability of a viewer looking at the first view location corresponding to the first foveation zone is greater than the probability of a viewer looking at the second view location corresponding to the second foveation zone, and wherein the half-resolution constant of the first foveation zone is greater than the half-resolution constant of the second foveation zone.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of foveation zones is definable by a discrete function.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of foveation zones is associated with a corresponding fixed resolution based on a probability of a viewer looking at a view location corresponding to the foveation zone.

11. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions to direct a processor to perform acts of:

receiving an image sequence that is compressed based on a plurality of foveation zones;

wherein a first foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a first view location and a second foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a second view location; and

wherein during a portion of the image sequence, the first and second view locations occur concurrently.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising computer-readable instructions to direct the processor to perform acts of:

decompressing the received image sequence; and

displaying the decompressed image sequence.

13. A computer apparatus comprising a processor responsive to computer-readable instructions stored in a computer readable medium, the instructions including instructions to receive an image sequence that is compressed based on a plurality of foveation zones, wherein a first foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a first view location and a second foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a second view location;

wherein during a portion of the image sequence, the first and second view locations occur concurrently.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to decompress the received image sequence and display the decompressed image sequence.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to store the decompressed image sequence.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to store the compressed image sequence.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the compressed image sequence is received via a digital subscriber line (DSL) network.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the compressed image sequence is received via a digital cable television transmission network.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the compressed image sequence is received via a satellite transmission network.

20. A computer system comprising a processor having access to a computer-readable medium including computer executable instructions, embedded on the computer-readable medium, to decompress an image sequence that is compressed based on a plurality of foveation zones and display the decompressed image sequence;

wherein a first foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a first view location and a second foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a second view location; and

wherein during a portion of the image sequence, the first and second view locations occur concurrently.

21. A method comprising:

decompressing, by a processor, an image sequence that is compressed based on a plurality of foveation zones; and

displaying the decompressed image sequence;

wherein a first foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a first view location and a second foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a second view location; and

wherein during a portion of the image sequence, the first and second view locations occur concurrently.

22. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for directing a processor to perform acts of:

decompressing an image sequence that is compressed based on a plurality of foveation zones; and

displaying the decompressed image sequence;

wherein a first foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a first view location and a second foveation zone of the plurality of foveation zones corresponds to a second view location; and

wherein during a portion of the image sequence, the first and second view locations occur concurrently.

Assignments (9)