An Improved Depth Map Estimation Algorithm For ViewSynthesis and Multiview Video Coding

摘要

In this paper, an improved algorithm to generate a smooth and accurate depth map for view synthesis and multiview video coding is developed. For each block in the target view, the algorithm first uses epipolar geometry to find its matched block in the reference view, from which an initial depth is obtained using the triangulation method and depth projection. 3D warping is then applied to refine the depth. In addition, a structural similarity and maximum likelihood-based approach is developed to fuse the depth estimations from multiple references. Finally, the depth map is smoothed via segmentation and plane fitting. Compared to existing 3D warping-based depth estimation, the proposed algorithm can achieve up to 4 dB improvement in view synthesis, while requires much fewer bits to encode the depth map. Experimental results in multiview video coding show that the proposed method can outperform the H.264 JMVC software by more than 1 dB.