Method and apparatus for applying a border to an image

1. A method of generating an image, comprising:

obtaining a first image comprised of a first area being a plurality of images having different field of views of a real-life scene and captured from a location above the real-life scene stitched together to form a panoramic view of the real-life scene, and a second area which does not include the plurality of images;

generating a second image which is a segment of the first image;

determining whether the second image includes only the first area; and when the second image includes both the first area and at least part of the second area, the method further comprises:

determining a distance by which said at least part of the second area impinges into the second image; and

applying a border to the second image that extends along an upper boundary and along a lower boundary of the second image, the border being applied above the upper boundary and below the lower boundary to provide a letterbox view of a part of the second image, a dimension of the border being determined in accordance with the distance by which said at least part of the second area impinges into the second image such that the letterbox view excludes said at least part of the second area.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said determining the distance comprises:

determining the co-ordinates of the upper corners of each of the plurality of images;

applying a transform to the upper corner co-ordinates to obtain transformed upper corner co-ordinates;

determining the co-ordinates of the lower corners of each of the plurality of images;

applying a transform to the lower corner co-ordinates to obtain transformed lower corner co-ordinates; and

determining the upper boundary as passing through the lowest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates and determining the lower boundary as passing through the highest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates.

3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the upper boundary is a horizontal line passing through the lowest transformed upper corner co-ordinate and the lower boundary is a horizontal line passing through the highest transformed lower co-ordinate.

4. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the step of determining whether the second image includes only the first area comprises the steps of:

determining whether the second image includes the lowest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates and the highest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates, whereby when the second image does include both the lowest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates and the highest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates, then determining that the second image includes both the first area and the second area.

5. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the step of determining whether the second image includes only the stitched image comprises the steps of:

determining whether the centre of the second image is located between the lowest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates and the highest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium including computer program instructions, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to perform the method of claim 1 .

7. A device for generating an image, comprising:

an imaging unit circuitry configured to obtain a first image comprised of a first area being a plurality of images having different field of views of a real-life scene and captured from a location above the real-life scene stitched together to form a panoramic view of the real-life scene, and a second area which does not include the plurality of images;

an image processing unit circuitry configured to i) generate a second image which is a segment of the first image;

ii) determine whether the second image includes only the first area; and when the second image includes both the first area and at least part of the second area, the image processing unit circuitry is further configured to:

determine a distance by which said at least part of the second area impinges into the second image; and

apply a border to the second image that extends along an upper boundary and along a lower boundary of the second image, the border being applied above the upper boundary and below the lower boundary to provide a letterbox view of a part of the second image, a dimension of the border being determined in accordance with the distance by which said at least part of the second area impinges into the second image such that the letterbox view excludes said at least part of the second area.

8. A device according to claim 7 , wherein the image processing unit circuitry is configured to determine the distance by:

determining the co-ordinates of the upper corners of each of the plurality of images;

applying a transform to the upper corner co-ordinates to obtain transformed upper corner co-ordinates;

determining the co-ordinates of the lower corners of each of the plurality of images;

applying a transform to the lower corner co-ordinates to obtain transformed lower corner co-ordinates; and

determining the upper boundary as passing through the lowest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates and determining the lower boundary as passing through the highest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates.

9. A device according to claim 8 , wherein the upper boundary is a horizontal line passing through the lowest transformed upper corner co-ordinate and the lower boundary is a horizontal line passing through the highest transformed lower co-ordinate.

10. A device according to claim 8 , wherein the image processing unit circuitry is further configured, when determining whether the second image includes only the stitched image to:

determine whether the centre of the second image is located between the lowest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates and the highest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates.

11. A device according to claim 7 , wherein the image processing circuitry unit is further configured, when determining whether the second image includes only the first area, to:

determine whether the second image includes the lowest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates and the highest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates, whereby when the second image does include both the lowest of the transformed upper corner co-ordinates and the highest of the transformed lower corner co-ordinates, then determining that the second image includes both the first area and the second area.