Sprite generation and coding of multiview image sequences

An algorithm to generate background sprite images from multiview image sequences is presented. A dynamic programming algorithm, using a multiview matching cost as well as pure geometrical constraints, is used to provide an estimate of the disparity field and to identify occluded areas. By combining motion, disparity and occlusion information, a sprite image corresponding to the first (main) view at the first time instant is generated. Image pixels from other views that are occluded in the main view are added to the sprite. The sprite coding method defined by MPEG-4 is extended for multiview image sequences, based on the generated sprite. Experimental results are presented, demonstrating the performance of the proposed technique and comparing it with methods using sprite generation from monoscopic sequences.