System and method for perspective transform in computer using multi-pass algorithm

摘要

A multi-pass algorithm for applying a perspective transform to quadrilateral images by means of at least two phases of 1-dimensional resampling processes for each dimension. Each phase constitutes a perspective transform from a rectangle to a trapezoid with parallel sides parallel to the corresponding sides of the rectangle. More particularly, each phase comprises a foreshortening pass in one dimension (vertical for parallel horizontal sides, horizontal for parallel vertical sides) followed by a trapezoidal pseudo-shear pass in the other dimension. Thus, in the first phase, the source rectangle is transformed to a first, intermediate trapezoid with either parallel horizontal or parallel vertical sides. In the second phase, the bounding box of this intermediate trapezoid (i.e., the smallest axis-aligned rectangle containing the trapezoid) is transformed to a second, target trapezoid with either parallel vertical or parallel horizontal sides (i. e., the opposite of the intermediate trapezoid) that bounds the final quadrilateral. Thus, by so transforming the bounding box of the intermediate trapezoid, the comers of the intermediate trapezoid are mapped to the corners of the target quadrilateral. The invention has two advantages over the prior art processes: although some complex calculations have to be performed for each row or column, the per pixel calculations are much simpler; and since the shape of the result is a simple trapezoid (remembering that a rectangle is a trapezoid) at each step, it is easy to control the resampling process to ensure that these shapes are achieved and the result appears stable.