Object-oriented image representation method and apparatus using irregular meshes

摘要

An object-oriented image representation apparatus using irregular meshes includes an object image extractor (10) for extracting image blocks containing an object contained in a whole image from the whole image represented by received image data. A regular mesh former (20) generates rectangular mesh data including fixed control points, floating control points and pixel data from the extracted object image. The fixed control points and the floating control points are vertex points belonging to an object image among vertex points of a plurality of the rectangular meshes which divide the whole image and the fixed control points are vertex points located at the corners of the object image. An irregular mesh former (30) receives the rectangular mesh data and repeats an operation for removing the floating control point having image descriptiveness of the lowest degree and an operation for dividing a region of support from which the floating control point is removed into polygonal meshes, until the number of the remaining floating control points reaches a predetermined threshold value. Thus, since a mesh representation with respect to an object instead of a whole image can be done, a much more efficient signal processing is possible compared with the mesh representation of the whole image.