Method and device for encoding the geometry of a point cloud

1. A method of reconstructing points of a point cloud, comprising:

obtaining a decoded first depth image by decoding a bitstream, the decoded first depth image comprising first depth values of orthogonally projected points of the point cloud onto a projection plane;

obtaining from the bitstream, a depth coding mode associated with an image region of a second depth image representing second depth values of the orthogonally projected points of the point cloud onto the projection plane; and

responsive to the depth coding mode, determining a second depth value for at least one pixel of the second depth image, from at least one first depth value of at least one pixel in the first depth image, wherein determining the second depth value includes:

determining a co-located pixel in the first depth image for the at least pixel of the second depth image;

determining at least one neighboring pixel of the co-located pixel in the first depth image; and

determining the second depth value from a first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second depth value is determined as an average of the first value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second depth value is determined as a maximum first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second depth value is determined as a minimum first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a spatial distance between the co-located pixel in the first depth image and the at least one neighboring pixel is below a given threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising de-projecting the first depth image and the second depth image.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the depth coding mode is encoded as a metadata associated with a reconstruction of the point cloud whose geometry is represented by the first and second depth images.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image region of the second depth image is a block of the second depth image or a projected depth patch of the second depth image.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the depth coding mode indicates whether the second depth values are encoded in the bitstream or not.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein if the depth coding mode indicates that the second depth values are encoded in the bitstream, the method further comprises decoding the second depth values from the bitstream.

11. A device for reconstructing points of a point cloud, comprising:

at least one processor configured to:

obtain a decoded first depth image by decoding a bitstream, the decoded first depth image comprising first depth values of orthogonally projected points of the point cloud onto a projection plane;

obtain from the bitstream, a depth coding mode associated with an image region of a second depth image representing second depth values of the orthogonally projected points of the point cloud onto the projection plane; and

responsive to the depth coding mode, determine a second depth value for at least one pixel of the second depth image, from at least one first depth value of at least one pixel in the first depth image, wherein determine the second depth value includes:

determine a co-located pixel in the first depth image for the at least pixel of the second depth image;

determine at least one neighboring pixel of the co-located pixel in the first depth image; and

determine the second depth value from a first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the second depth value is determined as an average of the first value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

13. The device of claim 11 , wherein the second depth value is determined as a maximum first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

14. The device of claim 11 , wherein the second depth value is determined as a minimum first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.

15. The device of claim 11 , wherein a spatial distance between the co-located pixel in the first depth image and the at least one neighboring pixel is below a given threshold.

16. The device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to de-project the first depth image and the second depth image.

17. The device of claim 11 , wherein the depth coding mode is encoded as a metadata associated with a reconstruction of the point cloud whose geometry is represented by the first and second depth images.

18. The device of claim 11 , wherein the image region of the second depth image is a block of the second depth image or a projected depth patch of the second depth image.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the depth coding mode indicates whether the second depth values are encoded in the bitstream or not.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform:

obtaining a decoded first depth image by decoding a bitstream, the decoded first depth image comprising first depth values of orthogonally projected points of the point cloud onto a projection plane;

obtaining from the bitstream, a depth coding mode associated with an image region of a second depth image representing second depth values of the orthogonally projected points of the point cloud onto the projection plane; and

responsive to the depth coding mode, determining a second depth value for at least one pixel of the second depth image, from at least one first depth value of at least one pixel in the first depth image, wherein determining the second depth value includes:

determining a co-located pixel in the first depth image for the at least pixel of the second depth image;

determining at least one neighboring pixel of the co-located pixel in the first depth image; and

determining the second depth value from a first depth value of the at least one neighboring pixel.