Range segmentation using focus cues

A new scene segmentation scheme is proposed. A scene with different depth ranges (e.g., with multiple objects) is segmented into ranges. Focus cues are used to measure depth ranges and segmentation is performed using a multiresolution approach. To use focus cues in a multiresolution framework, we develop a criterion function and pyramid for focus measure. The segmentation algorithm first segments a scene at a coarse resolution and proceeds progressively to finer resolutions. This segmentation into ranges gives a description of the 3-dimensional structure of a scene. This segmentation method does not require any prior knowledge of depth ranges. The segmentation results for a scene with multiple objects with different depth ranges is presented.