Improved method on image stitching based on optical flow algorithm

Abstract

With the rapid development of technologies based on virtual reality, image stitching is widely used in various fields such as broadcasting, games, education, and architecture. Image stitching is a method for connecting multiple images to produce a high-resolution image and a wide field of view image. It is common for most of the stitching methods to find and match the feature in the image. However, these stitching methods have the disadvantage that they cannot create a perfect 360-degree panoramic image because the depth of the projected area varies depending on the position and direction between adjacent cameras. Therefore, we propose an advanced stitching method to improve the deviation due to the difference in the depth of each area using the pixel value of the input image after the feature-based stitching. After the feature-based stitching method has been performed, the pixel values of overlapping areas in the image are calculated as an optical flow algorithm, then finely distorted, and then corrected to ensure that the image overlaps correctly. Through experiments, it was confirmed that the problem that was deviated from the feature-based stitching was solved. Besides, as a result of performance evaluation, it was proved that the proposed stitching method using an optical flow algorithm is capable of real-time and fast service.