Real-time correction of panoramic images using hyperbolic M\"obius transformations

TL;DR

This paper introduces a real-time method for correcting panoramic images by applying hyperbolic Möbius transformations on the viewing sphere, significantly reducing artifacts and improving visual quality in wide-angle images.

Contribution

The work presents a novel real-time correction technique using Möbius transformations on the Riemann sphere, enhancing panoramic image quality with adaptive projection schemes.

Findings

Transformations can be performed in real-time.

Compared favorably against other correction methods.

Improves perceptual quality of wide-angle panoramas.

Abstract

Wide-angle images gained a huge popularity in the last years due to the development of computational photography and imaging technological advances. They present the information of a scene in a way which is more natural for the human eye but, on the other hand, they introduce artifacts such as bent lines. These artifacts become more and more unnatural as the field of view increases. In this work, we present a technique aimed to improve the perceptual quality of panorama visualization. The main ingredients of our approach are, on one hand, considering the viewing sphere as a Riemann sphere, what makes natural the application of M\"obius (complex) transformations to the input image, and, on the other hand, a projection scheme which changes in function of the field of view used. We also introduce an implementation of our method, compare it against images produced with other methods and show that the transformations can be done in real-time, which makes our technique very appealing for new settings, as well as for existing interactive panorama applications.