Media Retargeting
We have developed a new method for image retargeting - changing the size of the image - in a content aware manner. This has wide applications as image today are viewed on a variety of displays with different size.
Background & Objective: We view images on a large number of digital displays such as cell phones, ipod, television, computer screens or high definition television. Yet each display has its own unique aspect ratio and we need to retarget the image to fit the display. To this end we have developed a novel real-time algorithm that can adapt the aspect ratio of the image by removing low-saliency portions of the image. The technique, termed seam carving, can be used to decrease, or increase the size of an image, perform image manipulations, such as object removal and even serve as an image saliency operator.
Technical Discussion: Effective resizing of images should not only use geometric constraints, but consider the image content as well. We present a simple image operator called seam carving that supports content-aware image resizing for both reduction and expansion. A seam is an optimal path of pixels on a single image from top to bottom, or left to right, where optimality is defined by an image energy function. By repeatedly carving out or inserting seams in one direction we can change the aspect ratio of an image. By applying these operators in both directions we can retarget the image to a new size. The selection and order of seams protect the content of the image, as defined by the energy function. Seam carving can also be used for image content enhancement and object removal. We support various visual saliency measures for defining the energy of an image, and can also include user input to guide the process. By storing the order of seams in an image we create multi-size images, that are able to continuously change in real time to fit a given size.
Future Direction: We plan to extend the method to work on video as well.
Contact: Jay Thornton
Publications:
Avidan, S.; Shamir, A., "Seam Carving for Content-Aware Image Resizing", ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG), ISSN:0730-0301, Vol. 26, Issue 3, July 2007, July 2007 (ACM Press, TR2007-087)
Technology Area: Imaging
Modification Date: March 5, 2008
