Methods and devices for manipulating an identified background portion of an image
Methods and devices for selecting objects in images are described. In one example aspect, a method includes: receiving stereoscopic image data, the stereoscopic image data includes a first image obtained from a first camera and a second image obtained from a second camera; identifying an object in the first image by analyzing the first image and the second image; displaying the first image, the identified object in the first image being selectable.
1. A method, implemented by a processor of an electronic device, for manipulation of an image, the method comprising:
receiving image data, the image data including a first image obtained from a first camera and a second image obtained from a second camera, the first camera and the second camera being oriented in a common direction;
identifying a background portion in the image data by analyzing the first image and the second image to obtain depth information, wherein the analyzing includes identifying one or more boundaries associated with an object in the image data based on the depth information; and
displaying a manipulated image based on the image data, wherein the manipulated image includes manipulation of the identified background portion.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object in the manipulated image is un-manipulated.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein manipulation of the identified background portion includes at least one of sharpening the identified background portion, blurring the identified background portion, applying a colour effect to the identified background portion, and applying a black-and-white effect to the identified background portion.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the background portion includes identifying discontinuities in visual characteristics associated with the object in the first image.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image data is stereoscopic image data, the stereoscopic image data includes the first image obtained from the first camera and the second image obtained from the second camera, and wherein the first image and the second image are simultaneously obtained.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the stereoscopic image data is received in response to receiving an instruction to capture a non-stereoscopic image.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the one or more boundaries includes performing image segmentation.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein performing image segmentation includes:
partitioning the image data into image segments;
assigning a visual characteristic label to each of the image segments;
grouping the image segments based on the visual characteristic labels to identify groups of image segments sharing visual characteristics; and
identifying the one or more boundaries based on the identified sets of visual characteristics.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the respective image segments are individual pixels.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising discarding the second image from the electronic device subsequent to displaying the manipulated image.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a signal indicating a selection of at least one of the background portion or the object; and
in response to receiving the signal, copying the indicated selection to an application.
12. An electronic device comprising:
a memory;
a display;
a first camera and a second camera, the first camera and the second camera being oriented in a common direction; and
a processor coupled to the memory, the display, the first camera, and the second camera, the processor being configured to:
receive image data, the image data including a first image obtained from the first camera and a second image obtained from the second camera;
identify a background portion in the image data by analyzing the first image and the second image to obtain depth information, wherein the analyzing includes identifying one or more boundaries associated with an object in the image data based on the depth information; and
display a manipulated image based on the image data, wherein the manipulated image includes manipulation of the identified background portion.
13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the object in the manipulated image is un-manipulated.
14. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein manipulation of the identified background portion includes at least one of sharpening the identified background portion, blurring the identified background portion, applying a colour effect to the identified background portion, and applying a black-and-white effect to the identified background portion.
15. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein identifying the background portion includes identifying discontinuities in visual characteristics associated with the object in the first image.
16. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the image data is stereoscopic image data, the stereoscopic image data includes the first image obtained from the first camera and the second image obtained from the second camera, and wherein the first image and the second image are simultaneously obtained.
17. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein the stereoscopic image data is received in response to receiving an instruction to capture a non-stereoscopic image.
18. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein identifying the one or more boundaries includes performing image segmentation.
19. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein performing image segmentation includes the processor being configured to:
partition the image data into image segments;
assign a visual characteristic label to each of the image segments;
group the image segments based on the visual characteristic labels to identify groups of image segments sharing visual characteristics; and
identify the one or more boundaries based on the identified sets of visual characteristics.
20. A non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions, wherein execution of the computer executable instructions is for:
receiving image data, the image data including a first image obtained from a first camera and a second image obtained from a second camera, the first camera and the second camera being oriented in a common direction;
identifying a background portion in the image data by analyzing the first image and the second image to obtain depth information, wherein the analyzing includes identifying one or more boundaries associated with an object in the image data based on the depth information; and
displaying a manipulated image based on the image data, wherein the manipulated image includes manipulation of the identified background portion.