Optimal seamline detection in dynamic scenes via graph cuts for image mosaicking

In this paper, we present a novel method for creating a seamless mosaic from a set of geometrically aligned images captured from the scene with dynamic objects at different times. The artifacts caused by dynamic objects and geometric misalignments can be effectively concealed in our proposed seamline detection algorithm. In addition, we simultaneously compensate the image regions of dynamic objects based on the optimal seamline detection in the graph cuts energy minimization framework and create the mosaic with a relatively clean background. To ensure the high quality of the optimal seamline, the energy functions adopted in graph cuts combine the pixel-level similarities of image characteristics, including intensity and gradient, and the texture complexity. To successfully compensate the image regions covered by dynamic objects for creating a mosaic with a relatively clean background, we initially detect them in overlap regions between images based on pixel-level and region-level similarities, then refine them based on segments, and determine their image source in probability based on contour matching. We finally integrate all of these into the energy minimization framework to detect optimal seamlines. Experimental results on different dynamic scenes demonstrate that our proposed method is capable of generating high-quality mosaics with relatively clean backgrounds based on the detected optimal seamlines.