Method and apparatus for motion estimation

1. A method of estimating motion between a pair of image frames of a given scene comprising:

a) calculating respective integral images for each of said image frames;

b) selecting at least one corresponding region of interest, within each frame;

c) for each region of interest:

i. calculating an integral image profile from each integral image, each profile comprising an array of elements, each element comprising a sum of pixel intensities from successive swaths of said region of interest for said frame;

ii. correlating said integral image profiles to determine a relative displacement of said region of interest between said pair of frames; and

iii. dividing each region of interest into a plurality of further regions of interest; and repeating step c) until a required hierarchy of estimated motion for successively divided regions of interest is provided,

wherein said calculating an integral image profile comprises sub-sampling said integral image at a first sub-sampling interval at a first selected level of said required hierarchy.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein step b) comprises initially selecting a complete image frame as a region of interest.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said dividing comprises dividing each region horizontally and vertically into an integer number of regions of interest.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein said integer number is 2.

5. A method according to claim 1 comprising designating a first of said image frames as a reference frame and a second of said image frames as a target frame, said method further comprising: displacing said divided regions of said target frame at one level of said hierarchy according to a relative displacement determined for a region of interest corresponding to said divided regions of interest at a higher level of the required hierarchy.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein said displacing is responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest for displacing said divided regions of interest within said target image differently according to said more than one displacement.

7. A method according to claim 5 wherein said dividing is responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest for determining a non-uniform division of said region of interest and for dividing said region of interest differently according to said non-uniform division.

8. A method according to claim 5 comprising calculating a full size integral image for a target frame and calculating a reduced size integral image for a reference frame, said reduced size integral image comprising only integral image data for pixels of said reference frame corresponding to boundaries of regions of interest within said required hierarchy.

9. A method according to claim 8 comprising selecting said reference and target frames from a sequence of image frames so that said reference frame alternately precedes and succeeds said target frame.

10. A method according to claim 5 further comprising receiving from a camera motion sensor, a measure of camera movement between said pair of image frames; and wherein said selecting comprises selecting a plurality of regions within said image, at least one region of interest within said target frame being displaced according to said measure of camera movement.

11. A method according to claim 1 comprising sampling each pixel of said integral image at a bottom level of said required hierarchy.

12. A method according to claim 11 further comprising interpolating said integral image profiles for each of said image frames at bottom level of said hierarchy to provide a sub-pixel measure of displacement for regions of interest at the bottom level of said required hierarchy.

13. A method according to claim 1 , comprising generating a geometrical transformation indicating a relative movement of said pair of frames, based on an array of motion vectors determined for regions of interest at a bottom level of said required hierarchy.

14. A method according to claim 13 comprising filtering said motion vectors prior to said generating to eliminate outlying motion vectors.

15. A method according to claim 1 wherein for each repetition of step c), said sub-sampling intervals are halved.

16. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said displacement comprises one or both of vertical or horizontal relative displacement.

17. A method of estimating motion between a pair of image frames of a given scene comprising:

a) at least one corresponding region of interest within each frame;

b) for each region of interest:

i. correlating image information for said regions of interest to determine a relative displacement of said region of interest between said pair of frames;

ii. dividing each region of interest into a plurality of further regions of interest, said dividing being responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest for determining a non-uniform division of said region of interest and for dividing said region of interest differently according to said non-uniform division; and

repeating step b) until a required hierarchy of estimated motion for successively divided regions of interest is provided.

18. A method of estimating motion between a pair of image frames of a given scene comprising:

a) designating a first of said image frames as a reference frame and a second of said image frames as a target frame,

b) selecting at least one corresponding region of interest within each frame;

c) for each region of interest:

i. correlating image information for said regions of interest to determine a relative displacement of said region of interest between said pair of frames;

ii. dividing each region of interest into a plurality of further regions of interest; and

iii. displacing said divided regions of said target frame at one level of said hierarchy according to a relative displacement determined for a region of interest corresponding to said divided regions of interest at a higher level of the hierarchy, said displacing being responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest for displacing said divided regions of interest within said target image differently according to said more than one displacement; and

repeating step c) until a required hierarchy of estimated motion for successively divided regions of interest is provided,

wherein said dividing is responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest for determining a non-uniform division of said region of interest and for dividing said region of interest differently according to said non-uniform division.

19. A method of estimating motion between a pair of image frames of a given scene comprising:

a) designating a first of said image frames as a reference frame and a second of said image frames as a target frame,

b) selecting at least one corresponding region of interest within each frame;

c) for each region of interest:

i. correlating image information for said regions of interest to determine a relative displacement of said region of interest between said pair of frames;

ii. dividing each region of interest into a plurality of further regions of interest; and

iii. displacing said divided regions of said target frame at one level of said hierarchy according to a relative displacement determined for a region of interest corresponding to said divided regions of interest at a higher level of the hierarchy, said displacing being responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest, including using a determined relative displacement at one level of the hierarchy as a basis for an initial estimate of the relative displacement for a next lower level of the hierarchy; and

repeating step c) until a required hierarchy of estimated motion for successively divided regions of interest is provided, wherein said dividing is responsive to said correlating determining more than one displacement within said region of interest for determining a non-uniform division of said region of interest and for dividing said region of interest differently according to said non-uniform division.