Free viewpoint images can be generated from multi-view images using Ray-Space method. Ray-Space data requires ray interpolation so as to satisfy the plenoptic function. Ray interpolation is realized by estimating view-dependent depth. Depth estimation is usually costly process, thus it is desirable that this process is skipped from rendering process to achieve real-time rendering. This paper proposes a method to render a novel view image using multi-view images and depth maps which are computed in advance. Virtual viewpoint image is generated by 3D warping, which causes some problems that have not occurred in the method with view dependent depth estimation. We handled these problems by projecting depth map to virtual image plane first and perform post-filtering on the projected depth map. We succeeded in obtaining high quality arbitrary viewpoint images from relatively small number of cameras.

Multi-scale processing is essential in image processing and computer graphics. Halos are a central issue in multi-scale processing. Several edge-preserving decompositions resolve halos, e.g., local Laplacian filtering (LLF), by extending the Laplacian pyramid to have an edge-preserving property. Its processing is costly; thus, an approximated acceleration of fast LLF was proposed to linearly interpolate multiple Laplacian pyramids. This paper further improves the accuracy by Fourier series expansion, named Fourier LLF. Our results showed that Fourier LLF has a higher accuracy for the same number of pyramids. Moreover, Fourier LLF exhibits parameter-adaptive property for content-adaptive filtering.

This study examines vectorized programming for finite impulse response image filtering. Finite impulse response image filtering occupies a fundamental place in image processing, and has several approximated acceleration algorithms. However, no sophisticated method of acceleration exists for parameter adaptive filters or any other complex filter. For this case, simple subsampling with code optimization is a unique solution. Under the current Moore’s law, increases in central processing unit frequency have stopped. Moreover, the usage of more and more transistors is becoming insuperably complex due to power and thermal constraints. Most central processing units have multi-core architectures, complicated cache memories, and short vector processing units. This change has complicated vectorized programming. Therefore, we first organize vectorization patterns of vectorized programming to highlight the computing performance of central processing units by revisiting the general finite impulse response filtering. Furthermore, we propose a new vectorization pattern of vectorized programming and term it as loop vectorization. Moreover, these vectorization patterns mesh well with the acceleration method of subsampling of kernels for general finite impulse response filters. Experimental results reveal that the vectorization patterns are appropriate for general finite impulse response filtering. A new vectorization pattern with kernel subsampling is found to be effective for various filters. These include Gaussian range filtering, bilateral filtering, adaptive Gaussian filtering, randomly-kernel-subsampled Gaussian range filtering, randomly-kernel-subsampled bilateral filtering, and randomly-kernel-subsampled adaptive Gaussian filtering.

In this paper, we assess the quality of experience (QoE) about the operability of a haptic interface device for work in which a user operates an industrial robot with a force sensor at a remote location by using the haptic interface device while watching a video. We treat work of putting a metal rod attached to the tip of the industrial robot arm into a hole, and we demonstrate how much the operability is degraded owing to the network delay. To improve the operability, we also carry out the adaptive reaction force control, which we previously proposed, and investigate its effect.

In this paper, we deal with harvesting fruit in a 3-D virtual space for an olfactory and haptic media display system. Making use of the system, a user can pick fruit from a tree in the 3-D virtual space and perceive the smell of picked fruit by using an olfactory display (SyP@D2) and the reaction force when picking fruit by using a haptic interface device (PHANToM Omni). In the case where there exists inter-stream synchronization error between olfactory and haptic media, we assess the inter-stream synchronization quality as the quality of experience (QoE).