METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRACKING AN OBJECT OF INTEREST IN A DIGITAL IMAGE

摘要

A method and apparatus are disclosed for tracking an object of interest in a digital image having at least one high resolution portion. In a "shaped mirror embodiment," a shaped rotating mirror magnifies at least one portion of the field of view so that a stationary camera obtains a higher resolution image corresponding to the magnified region. In a "two camera embodiment," two stationary cameras with varying resolution are focused on a flat rotating mirror. A first stationary camera having lower resolution produces the overall panoramic image, while the second stationary camera having higher resolution produces the higher resolution image with a smaller field of view. In the shaped mirror embodiment, a rotating mirror contains one magnifying region that magnifies a portion of the field of view, and additional regions that reduce the remaining portions of the field of view. In the illustrative embodiment, the rotating mirror is curved to produce regions of variable magnifying resolution. In the illustrative two-camera embodiment, a 360-degree panoramic image is obtained using a first stationary camera and a flat rotating mirror. A second camera having a higher resolution or higher zoom than the first camera is also utilized. A semi-reflective mirror transmits a predefined percentage of the reflected light to the first camera and reflects a predefined percentage of the reflected light to the second camera.