A Novel Blending Method for Automatic Seamless Image Mosaicing

Abstract

An image mosaic is a panoramic image generated by assembling sequential images belong to the same scene . This method is mainly used in mapping applications, the evaluation of the images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles, and various computer vision applications. In this study, we proposed a novel blending method for automatic seamless image mosaicing from ground level photos taken by an digital camera. For the correction of consistent seams occurred during the mosaicing, we measured the color differences around the overlapping regions. For this purpose, first, we determined the intensity values of image pixels inside and outside the overlapping region boundary within a 1 pixel wide zone. Secondly, the intensity values were averaged and finally, the average values of color differences were applied to overlapping regions. Besides, a motion blur filter was performed for the same boundary regions in order to reduce the seams. In order to test the accuracy, a subjective evaluation metric was used. According to the results obtained, the seamless image mosaics were generated with a subjective accuracy of 74%. Our results indicate that the seams can be substantially reduced or completely eliminated, and the illumination differences are minimized.