Abstract: An apparatus for performing 3D estimation on the basis of pictures of at least two different views includes a hypotheses provider, a similarity measure calculator, and a 3D information determiner. The hypotheses provider locally determines 3D information hypotheses for positions of a current picture of a first view on the basis of a pre-estimate which associates a 3D information estimate to each position of a picture of the first view. The similarity measure calculator calculates, for each position of the current picture of the first view, a hypotheses of the respective position by measuring a similarity between a region similarity measure for each of the 3D information of the current picture of the first view at the respective position and a corresponding region of a second view at a position displaced relative to the respective position by a respective 3D information hypothesis.

Abstract: An apparatus for performing 3D estimation on the basis of pictures of at least two different views includes a hypotheses provider, a similarity measure calculator, and a 3D information determiner. The hypotheses provider locally determines 3D information hypotheses for positions of a current picture of a first view on the basis of a pre-estimate which associates a 3D information estimate to each position of a picture of the first view. The similarity measure calculator calculates, for each position of the current picture of the first view, a hypotheses of the respective position by measuring a similarity between a region similarity measure for each of the 3D information of the current picture of the first view at the respective position and a corresponding region of a second view at a position displaced relative to the respective position by a respective 3D information hypothesis.

Abstract: A method for generating 3D-information from multiple images showing a 3D scene from multiple perspectives has: providing at least two hypotheses for the 3D-information; performing a multi-hypotheses test by matching the at least two hypotheses to the multiple images and determining a test-result hypothesis that fulfills a particular matching criterion; updating the test-result hypothesis by varying a parameter set of the test-result hypothesis to further improve the matching criterion or another criterion; and determining the 3D-information on the basis of the parameter set of a resulting hypothesis provided by the action of updating the test-result hypothesis. A corresponding computer readable digital storage medium and a 3D-information generator are also described. Further embodiments perform a correspondence analysis between projections of spatio-temporal objects (STO) in multiple images to select a particular spatio-temporal object on the basis of said correspondence analysis.

Abstract: A virtual camera pose determiner is configured to determine a position and an orientation of a virtual camera. The position of the virtual camera is determined on the basis of a display position of a displayed representation of a remote participant on a display. The orientation of the virtual camera is determined on the basis of a geometrical relation between the display position of the remote participant on the display, and a position of a local participant. The virtual camera is configured to transmit an image or a sequence of images to the remote participant, so that an image provided by the virtual camera has the view on the local participant as is if viewed from the display position. Further embodiments provide a video communication system having a virtual camera pose determiner for providing a virtual camera pose on basis of the display position and the position of the local participant.

Abstract: A method for generating 3D-information from multiple images showing a 3D scene from multiple perspectives has: providing at least two hypotheses for the 3D-information; performing a multi-hypotheses test by matching the at least two hypotheses to the multiple images and determining a test-result hypothesis that fulfills a particular matching criterion; updating the test-result hypothesis by varying a parameter set of the test-result hypothesis to further improve the matching criterion or another criterion; and determining the 3D-information on the basis of the parameter set of a resulting hypothesis provided by the action of updating the test-result hypothesis. A corresponding computer readable digital storage medium and a 3D-information generator are also described. Further embodiments perform a correspondence analysis between projections of spatio-temporal objects (STO) in multiple images to select a particular spatio-temporal object on the basis of said correspondence analysis.

Abstract: A virtual camera pose determiner is configured to determine a position and an orientation of a virtual camera. The position of the virtual camera is determined on the basis of a display position of a displayed representation of a remote participant on a display. The orientation of the virtual camera is determined on the basis of a geometrical relation between the display position of the remote participant on the display, and a position of a local participant. The virtual camera is configured to transmit an image or a sequence of images to the remote participant, so that an image provided by the virtual camera has the view on the local participant as is if viewed from the display position. Further embodiments provide a video communication system having a virtual camera pose determiner for providing a virtual camera pose on basis of the display position and the position of the local participant.