Abstract: An image generation apparatus for generating a reference image that is referenced when encoding a time-series frame group that is a set of frames in which a second subject is captured so as to be temporally apparently deformed due to a property of a first subject comprises a reference image generation unit that generates the reference image in which a change in an image based on the property of the first subject is suppressed and apparent deformation of the second subject is suppressed.

Abstract: An encoding method is performed by an encoding apparatus, and the encoding method includes a step in which an image of an object captured by a camera in a plurality of frames of a moving image is analyzed and it is determined whether camera parameters relating to an intrinsic matrix of the camera are invariable, a step in which, when the camera parameters are invariable, six parameters representing destinations of three points for a projective transformation unit of the image of the object are generated, and a homography matrix is generated on the basis of the six parameters, and a step in which projective transformation is performed on the projective transformation unit of the image of the object using the homography matrix, and a prediction signal of the image of the object is generated on the basis of the result of the projective transformation.

Abstract: A coding amount estimation device includes: a feature vector generation unit that generates a feature vector on the basis of a feature map generated by an estimation target image and at least one filter set in advance; and a coding amount evaluation unit that evaluates a coding amount of the estimation target image on the basis of the feature vector.

Abstract: An image coding method includes: an image acquisition step of acquiring a coding-target image; a feature map generation step of generating a feature map, based on the image; a contraction function generation step of performing fractal compression of the feature map and generating a contraction function; and an entropy encoding step of performing entropy encoding of the contraction function.

Abstract: An image processing device that updates a pixel value of a processing target image and generates a new image generates a first feature vector based on the processing target image and a first feature map generated with at least one pre-decided filter; updates the processing target image to generate an updated image; generates a second feature vector based on the updated image and a second feature map generated with at least one pre-decided filter; performs quality evaluation of the updated image based on the first and second feature vectors and generates a quality feedback vector which is a vector based on a result of the quality evaluation; performs an encoding amount evaluation on the updated image and generates an encoding amount feedback vector which is a vector based on a result of the encoding amount evaluation; and determines an updating amount in updating of the updated image based on the quality feedback vector and the encoding amount feedback vector.

Abstract: A coding method for coding an image to be coded using a reference image includes identifying a reference area being a part of the reference image, the reference area corresponding to an area to be coded being an area obtained by dividing the image to be coded, and obtaining a predicted area with respect to the area to be coded, by prediction using the reference area. The area to be coded and the reference area have different sizes and/or different shapes. In the identifying, the reference area is identified by utilizing a difference between a manner of projection of an object corresponding to the area to be coded and a manner of projection of the object corresponding to the reference area, due to an operation performed on a camera when the image to be coded and the reference image are acquired.

Abstract: A predictive image acquisition device is a predictive image acquisition device for associating an observation signal, the observation signal being a signal obtained from an original image serving as a decoding target image and being a lower dimensional signal than the original image, a first predictive image having a high correlation with the original image, and a second predictive image having a high correlation with the original image with each other to obtain a combined predictive image, and includes an interpolation factor acquisition unit configured to obtain an interpolation factor set for each pixel of the combined predictive image from the first predictive image, the second predictive image, and the observation signal, and a combined predictive image acquisition unit configured to combine the first predictive image and the second predictive image for each pixel using the interpolation factor to obtain the combined predictive image, and the pixels constituting the observation signal are expressed by a

Abstract: A video encoding method includes: a provisional image generation step of generating one provisional image from a plurality of frames to be coded; a transformation step of transforming the generated provisional image to a transformed image having the same number of pixels as that of each of the plurality of frames to be coded; and a prediction image generation step of generating a prediction image for each of the frames to be coded, using the transformed image as a reference image.

Abstract: A decoding apparatus includes: an obtainment unit in which a high frame rate, a medium frame rate, and a low frame rate have been determined in advance in descending order of frame rate, and which obtains low-frame-rate images that are moving images with the low frame rate, as well as weights; and a decoding unit that generates a third frame of medium-frame-rate images that are moving images with the medium frame rate by compositing a first frame and a second frame that are chronologically contiguous in the low-frame-rate images based on the weights. The low-frame-rate images and the weights are derived in advance so as to minimize a degree of deviation between a plurality of frames of moving images with the high frame rate in a preset period and a plurality of frames of the medium-frame-rate images in the period.

Abstract: An image encoding method that generates and encodes a gram matrix representing an image feature when encoding an image to be encoded includes a feature map generation step of generating a plurality of feature maps from the image to be encoded; a gram matrix generation step of generating a gram matrix through calculations between/among the feature maps; a representative vector determination step of generating a representative vector and a representative coefficient value by singular value decomposition of the gram matrix; and a vector encoding step of encoding the representative coefficient value and the representative vector.

Abstract: An image encoding method that expresses an image using pixels or blocks, and colors assigned to the pixels or the blocks when encoding an image to be encoded, and encodes a block division tree and color information, the color information being assigned to all nodes including a root node, branch nodes, and leaf nodes of the block division tree, the method includes: a division tree generation step of dividing the image to be encoded using an arbitrary division tree and thereby generating the block division tree; a color information determination step of determining representative colors that represent interim blocks or final blocks and assigning the determined colors as color information corresponding to the respective nodes, the interim blocks or the final blocks corresponding to the nodes of the block division tree; a tree encoding step of encoding the block division tree; and a color information encoding step of encoding the color information.

Abstract: An encoding method is performed by an encoding apparatus, and the encoding method includes a step in which an image of an object captured by a camera in a plurality of frames of a moving image is analyzed and it is determined whether camera parameters relating to an intrinsic matrix of the camera are invariable, a step in which, when the camera parameters are invariable, six parameters representing destinations of three points for a projective transformation unit of the image of the object are generated, and a homography matrix is generated on the basis of the six parameters, and a step in which projective transformation is performed on the projective transformation unit of the image of the object using the homography matrix, and a prediction signal of the image of the object is generated on the basis of the result of the projective transformation.

Abstract: An image generation apparatus for generating a reference image that is referenced when encoding a time-series frame group that is a set of frames in which a second subject is captured so as to be temporally apparently deformed due to a property of a first subject comprises a reference image generation unit that generates the reference image in which a change in an image based on the property of the first subject is suppressed and apparent deformation of the second subject is suppressed.

Abstract: A predictive image acquisition device is a predictive image acquisition device for associating an observation signal, the observation signal being a signal obtained from an original image serving as a decoding target image and being a lower dimensional signal than the original image, a first predictive image having a high correlation with the original image, and a second predictive image having a high correlation with the original image with each other to obtain a combined predictive image, and includes an interpolation factor acquisition unit configured to obtain an interpolation factor set for each pixel of the combined predictive image from the first predictive image, the second predictive image, and the observation signal, and a combined predictive image acquisition unit configured to combine the first predictive image and the second predictive image for each pixel using the interpolation factor to obtain the combined predictive image, and the pixels constituting the observation signal are expressed by a

Abstract: A coding amount estimation device includes: a feature vector generation unit that generates a feature vector on the basis of a feature map generated by an estimation target image and at least one filter set in advance; and a coding amount evaluation unit that evaluates a coding amount of the estimation target image on the basis of the feature vector.

Abstract: An image processing device that updates a pixel value of a processing target image and generates a new image generates a first feature vector based on the processing target image and a first feature map generated with at least one pre-decided filter; updates the processing target image to generate an updated image; generates a second feature vector based on the updated image and a second feature map generated with at least one pre-decided filter; performs quality evaluation of the updated image based on the first and second feature vectors and generates a quality feedback vector which is a vector based on a result of the quality evaluation; performs an encoding amount evaluation on the updated image and generates an encoding amount feedback vector which is a vector based on a result of the encoding amount evaluation; and determines an updating amount in updating of the updated image based on the quality feedback vector and the encoding amount feedback vector.

Abstract: Regions based on which an interpolation method of a fractional-accuracy pixel is switched are optimized, and the interpolation method is switched for each of the divided regions, thereby reducing residual energy of inter-frame prediction with motion compensation.

Abstract: Setting a reference pixel signal from a decoded pixel signal in intra-prediction in which a prediction signal is generated in the same frame, acquiring prediction mode identification information that identifies an intra-prediction mode, generating a prediction signal based on the reference pixel signal and the prediction mode identification information, making a determination regarding correction of the prediction signal using a reference pixel having a shorter distance from a pixel that is a prediction target in the intra-prediction mode identified by the prediction mode identification information, and correcting the generated prediction signal according to a result of the determination are included in order to provide an image encoding method and an image decoding method capable of improving subjective image quality and coding efficiency using a closer decoded pixel in an intra-prediction process.

Abstract: A video encoding device uses motion-compensated inter-frame prediction by dividing an image into blocks, each block a predetermined size, designating a first component value of a plurality of component values of a motion vector (MV) between an encoding target block and a neighboring block, designating a second component value, and encoding each first and second component values; a first component encoding means encodes a difference value of a first component and a second component encoding means, which obtains a probability of occurrence of a candidate value for the second component value of the MV of the encoding target block, based on a difference value between the first component value of the neighboring block MV and the first component value of the encoding target block MV and the second component value of the neighboring block MV, specifies a codeword of the second component value, encoding it based on the occurrence probability.

Abstract: The prediction error energy in inter-frame prediction with motion compensation is reduced and the coding efficiency is improved.