Shift-map based stereo image retargeting with disparity adjustment

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel image retargeting algorithm for 3D images given as pairs of stereo images. In the context of 3D image retargeting, the novel viewpoint advocated in this paper is that the geometric consistency in the form of preserving disparity values should not be an overpowering objective formulated as hard constraints. Instead, for maximizing viewing experience and comfort, it is desirable to simultaneously retarget the images as well as adjust the disparity values. The proposed retargeting algorithm is based on the methods of shift-map and importance filtering, and the main technical contribution of this paper is a successful extension of these earlier techniques to 3D images. We have evaluated the proposed method extensively, and the results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method as well as its potential for producing high-quality outputs. In particular, comparing with the state-of-the-art, the proposed method has a considerably shorter running time, and at the same time, it produces the retargeted 3D images that are more agreeable and pleasing for viewing. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.