Automatic video segmentation employing object/camera modeling techniques

Practically established video compression and storage techniques still process video sequences as rectangular images without further semantic structure. However, humans watching a video sequence immediately recognize acting objects as semantic units. This semantic object separation is currently not reflected in the technical system, making it difficult to manipulate the video at the object level. The realization of object-based manipulation will introduce many new possibilities for working with videos like composing new scenes from pre-existing video objects or enabling user-interaction with the scene. Moreover, object-based video compression, as defined in the MPEG-4 standard, can provide high compression ratios because the foreground objects can be sent independently from the background. In the case that the scene background is static, the background views can even be combined into a large panoramic sprite image, from which the current camera view is extracted. This results in a higher compression ratio since the sprite image for each scene only has to be sent once. A prerequisite for employing object-based video processing is automatic (or at least user-assisted semi-automatic) segmentation of the input video into semantic units, the video objects. This segmentation is a difficult problem because the computer does not have the vast amount of pre-knowledge that humans subconsciously use for object detection. Thus, even the simple definition of the desired output of a segmentation system is difficult. The subject of this thesis is to provide algorithms for segmentation that are applicable to common video material and that are computationally efficient. The thesis is conceptually separated into three parts. In Part I, an automatic segmentation system for general video content is described in detail. Part II introduces object models as a tool to incorporate userdefined knowledge about the objects to be extracted into the segmentation process. Part III concentrates on the modeling of camera motion in order to relate the observed camera motion to real-world camera parameters. The segmentation system that is described in Part I is based on a background-subtraction technique. The pure background image that is required for this technique is synthesized from the input video itself. Sequences that contain rotational camera motion can also be processed since the camera motion is estimated and the input images are aligned into a panoramic scene-background. This approach is fully compatible to the MPEG-4 video-encoding framework, such that the segmentation system can be easily combined with an object-based MPEG-4 video codec. After an introduction to the theory of projective geometry in Chapter 2, which is required for the derivation of camera-motion models, the estimation of camera motion is discussed in Chapters 3 and 4. It is important that the camera-motion estimation is not influenced by foreground object motion. At the same time, the estimation should provide accurate motion parameters such that all input frames can be combined seamlessly into a background image. The core motion estimation is based on a feature-based approach where the motion parameters are determined with a robust-estimation algorithm (RANSAC) in order to distinguish the camera motion from simultaneously visible object motion. Our experiments showed that the robustness of the original RANSAC algorithm in practice does not reach the theoretically predicted performance. An analysis of the problem has revealed that this is caused by numerical instabilities that can be significantly reduced by a modification that we describe in Chapter 4. The synthetization of static-background images is discussed in Chapter 5. In particular, we present a new algorithm for the removal of the foreground objects from the background image such that a pure scene background remains. The proposed algorithm is optimized to synthesize the background even for difficult scenes in which the background is only visible for short periods of time. The problem is solved by clustering the image content for each region over time, such that each cluster comprises static content. Furthermore, it is exploited that the times, in which foreground objects appear in an image region, are similar to the corresponding times of neighboring image areas. The reconstructed background could be used directly as the sprite image in an MPEG-4 video coder. However, we have discovered that the counterintuitive approach of splitting the background into several independent parts can reduce the overall amount of data. In the case of general camera motion, the construction of a single sprite image is even impossible. In Chapter 6, a multi-sprite partitioning algorithm is presented, which separates the video sequence into a number of segments, for which independent sprites are synthesized. The partitioning is computed in such a way that the total area of the resulting sprites is minimized, while simultaneously satisfying additional constraints. These include a limited sprite-buffer size at the decoder, and the restriction that the image resolution in the sprite should never fall below the input-image resolution. The described multisprite approach is fully compatible to the MPEG-4 standard, but provides three advantages. First, any arbitrary rotational camera motion can be processed. Second, the coding-cost for transmitting the sprite images is lower, and finally, the quality of the decoded sprite images is better than in previously proposed sprite-generation algorithms. Segmentation masks for the foreground objects are computed with a change-detection algorithm that compares the pure background image with the input images. A special effect that occurs in the change detection is the problem of image misregistration. Since the change detection compares co-located image pixels in the camera-motion compensated images, a small error in the motion estimation can introduce segmentation errors because non-corresponding pixels are compared. We approach this problem in Chapter 7 by integrating risk-maps into the segmentation algorithm that identify pixels for which misregistration would probably result in errors. For these image areas, the change-detection algorithm is modified to disregard the difference values for the pixels marked in the risk-map. This modification significantly reduces the number of false object detections in fine-textured image areas. The algorithmic building-blocks described above can be combined into a segmentation system in various ways, depending on whether camera motion has to be considered or whether real-time execution is required. These different systems and example applications are discussed in Chapter 8. Part II of the thesis extends the described segmentation system to consider object models in the analysis. Object models allow the user to specify which objects should be extracted from the video. In Chapters 9 and 10, a graph-based object model is presented in which the features of the main object regions are summarized in the graph nodes, and the spatial relations between these regions are expressed with the graph edges. The segmentation algorithm is extended by an object-detection algorithm that searches the input image for the user-defined object model. We provide two objectdetection algorithms. The first one is specific for cartoon sequences and uses an efficient sub-graph matching algorithm, whereas the second processes natural video sequences. With the object-model extension, the segmentation system can be controlled to extract individual objects, even if the input sequence comprises many objects. Chapter 11 proposes an alternative approach to incorporate object models into a segmentation algorithm. The chapter describes a semi-automatic segmentation algorithm, in which the user coarsely marks the object and the computer refines this to the exact object boundary. Afterwards, the object is tracked automatically through the sequence. In this algorithm, the object model is defined as the texture along the object contour. This texture is extracted in the first frame and then used during the object tracking to localize the original object. The core of the algorithm uses a graph representation of the image and a newly developed algorithm for computing shortest circular-paths in planar graphs. The proposed algorithm is faster than the currently known algorithms for this problem, and it can also be applied to many alternative problems like shape matching. Part III of the thesis elaborates on different techniques to derive information about the physical 3-D world from the camera motion. In the segmentation system, we employ camera-motion estimation, but the obtained parameters have no direct physical meaning. Chapter 12 discusses an extension to the camera-motion estimation to factorize the motion parameters into physically meaningful parameters (rotation angles, focal-length) using camera autocalibration techniques. The speciality of the algorithm is that it can process camera motion that spans several sprites by employing the above multi-sprite technique. Consequently, the algorithm can be applied to arbitrary rotational camera motion. For the analysis of video sequences, it is often required to determine and follow the position of the objects. Clearly, the object position in image coordinates provides little information if the viewing direction of the camera is not known. Chapter 13 provides a new algorithm to deduce the transformation between the image coordinates and the real-world coordinates for the special application of sport-video analysis. In sport videos, the camera view can be derived from markings on the playing field. For this reason, we employ a model of the playing field that describes the arrangement of lines. After detecting significant lines in the input image, a combinatorial search is carried out to establish correspondences between lines in the input image and lines in the model. The algorithm requires no information about the specific color of the playing field and it is very robust to occlusions or poor lighting conditions. Moreover, the algorithm is generic in the sense that it can be applied to any type of sport by simply exchanging the model of the playing field. In Chapter 14, we again consider panoramic background images and particularly focus ib their visualization. Apart from the planar backgroundsprites discussed previously, a frequently-used visualization technique for panoramic images are projections onto a cylinder surface which is unwrapped into a rectangular image. However, the disadvantage of this approach is that the viewer has no good orientation in the panoramic image because he looks into all directions at the same time. In order to provide a more intuitive presentation of wide-angle views, we have developed a visualization technique specialized for the case of indoor environments. We present an algorithm to determine the 3-D shape of the room in which the image was captured, or, more generally, to compute a complete floor plan if several panoramic images captured in each of the rooms are provided. Based on the obtained 3-D geometry, a graphical model of the rooms is constructed, where the walls are displayed with textures that are extracted from the panoramic images. This representation enables to conduct virtual walk-throughs in the reconstructed room and therefore, provides a better orientation for the user. Summarizing, we can conclude that all segmentation techniques employ some definition of foreground objects. These definitions are either explicit, using object models like in Part II of this thesis, or they are implicitly defined like in the background synthetization in Part I. The results of this thesis show that implicit descriptions, which extract their definition from video content, work well when the sequence is long enough to extract this information reliably. However, high-level semantics are difficult to integrate into the segmentation approaches that are based on implicit models. Intead, those semantics should be added as postprocessing steps. On the other hand, explicit object models apply semantic pre-knowledge at early stages of the segmentation. Moreover, they can be applied to short video sequences or even still pictures since no background model has to be extracted from the video. The definition of a general object-modeling technique that is widely applicable and that also enables an accurate segmentation remains an important yet challenging problem for further research

Enabling arbitrary rotation camera-motion using multi-sprites with minimum coding cost

Object-oriented coding in the MPEG-4 standard enables the separate processing of foreground objects and the scene background (sprite). Since the background sprite only has to be sent once, transmission bandwidth can be saved.We have found that the counter-intuitive approach of splitting the background into several independent parts can reduce the overall amount of data. Furthermore, we show that in the general case, the synthesis of a single background sprite is even impossible and that the scene background must be sent as multiple sprites instead. For this reason, we propose an algorithm that provides an optimal partitioning of a video sequence into independent background sprites (a multisprite), resulting in a significant reduction of the involved coding cost. Additionally, our sprite-generation algorithm ensures that the sprite resolution is kept high enough to preserve all details of the input sequence, which is a problem especially during camera zoom-in operations. Even though our sprite generation algorithm creates multiple sprites instead of only a single background sprite, it is fully compatible with the existing MPEG-4 standard. The algorithm has been evaluated with several test sequences, including the well-known Table-tennis and Stefan sequences. The total coding cost for the sprite VOP is reduced by a factor of about 2.6 or even higher, depending on the sequence

MASCOT : metadata for advanced scalable video coding tools : final report

The goal of the MASCOT project was to develop new video coding schemes and tools that provide both an increased coding efficiency as well as extended scalability features compared to technology that was available at the beginning of the project. Towards that goal the following tools would be used: - metadata-based coding tools; - new spatiotemporal decompositions; - new prediction schemes. Although the initial goal was to develop one single codec architecture that was able to combine all new coding tools that were foreseen when the project was formulated, it became clear that this would limit the selection of the new tools. Therefore the consortium decided to develop two codec frameworks within the project, a standard hybrid DCT-based codec and a 3D wavelet-based codec, which together are able to accommodate all tools developed during the course of the project

Video object segmentation for interactive multimedia

Ankara : Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Institute of Engineering and Sciences, Bilkent Univ., 1998.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1998.Includes bibliographical references leaves 67-74.Recently, trends in video processing research have shifted from video compression to video analysis, due to the emerging standards MPEG-4 and MPEG-7. These standards will enable the users to interact with the objects in the audiovisual scene generated at the user’s end. However, neither of them prescribes how to obtain the objects. Many methods have been proposed for segmentation of video objects. One of the approaches is the “Analysis Model” (AM) of European COST-211 project. It is a modular approach to video object segmentation problem. Although AM performs acceptably in some cases, the results in many other cases are not good enough to be considered as semantic objects. In this thesis, a new tool is integrated and some modules are replaced by improved versions. One of the tools uses a block-based motion estimation technique to analyze the motion content within a scene, computes a motion activity parameter, and skips frames accordingly. Also introduced is a powerful motion estimation method which uses maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) criterion and Gibbs energies to obtain more reliable motion vectors and to calculate temporally unpredictable areas. To handle more complex motion in the scene, the 2-D affine motion model is added to the motion segmentation module, which employs only the translational model. The observed results indicate that the AM performance is improved substantially. The objects in the scene and their boundaries are detected more accurately, compared to the previous results.Ekmekçi, TolgaM.S

Acquisition, compression and rendering of depth and texture for multi-view video

Three-dimensional (3D) video and imaging technologies is an emerging trend in the development of digital video systems, as we presently witness the appearance of 3D displays, coding systems, and 3D camera setups. Three-dimensional multi-view video is typically obtained from a set of synchronized cameras, which are capturing the same scene from different viewpoints. This technique especially enables applications such as freeviewpoint video or 3D-TV. Free-viewpoint video applications provide the feature to interactively select and render a virtual viewpoint of the scene. A 3D experience such as for example in 3D-TV is obtained if the data representation and display enable to distinguish the relief of the scene, i.e., the depth within the scene. With 3D-TV, the depth of the scene can be perceived using a multi-view display that renders simultaneously several views of the same scene. To render these multiple views on a remote display, an efficient transmission, and thus compression of the multi-view video is necessary. However, a major problem when dealing with multiview video is the intrinsically large amount of data to be compressed, decompressed and rendered. We aim at an efficient and flexible multi-view video system, and explore three different aspects. First, we develop an algorithm for acquiring a depth signal from a multi-view setup. Second, we present efficient 3D rendering algorithms for a multi-view signal. Third, we propose coding techniques for 3D multi-view signals, based on the use of an explicit depth signal. This motivates that the thesis is divided in three parts. The first part (Chapter 3) addresses the problem of 3D multi-view video acquisition. Multi-view video acquisition refers to the task of estimating and recording a 3D geometric description of the scene. A 3D description of the scene can be represented by a so-called depth image, which can be estimated by triangulation of the corresponding pixels in the multiple views. Initially, we focus on the problem of depth estimation using two views, and present the basic geometric model that enables the triangulation of corresponding pixels across the views. Next, we review two calculation/optimization strategies for determining corresponding pixels: a local and a one-dimensional optimization strategy. Second, to generalize from the two-view case, we introduce a simple geometric model for estimating the depth using multiple views simultaneously. Based on this geometric model, we propose a new multi-view depth-estimation technique, employing a one-dimensional optimization strategy that (1) reduces the noise level in the estimated depth images and (2) enforces consistent depth images across the views. The second part (Chapter 4) details the problem of multi-view image rendering. Multi-view image rendering refers to the process of generating synthetic images using multiple views. Two different rendering techniques are initially explored: a 3D image warping and a mesh-based rendering technique. Each of these methods has its limitations and suffers from either high computational complexity or low image rendering quality. As a consequence, we present two image-based rendering algorithms that improves the balance on the aforementioned issues. First, we derive an alternative formulation of the relief texture algorithm which was extented to the geometry of multiple views. The proposed technique features two advantages: it avoids rendering artifacts ("holes") in the synthetic image and it is suitable for execution on a standard Graphics Processor Unit (GPU). Second, we propose an inverse mapping rendering technique that allows a simple and accurate re-sampling of synthetic pixels. Experimental comparisons with 3D image warping show an improvement of rendering quality of 3.8 dB for the relief texture mapping and 3.0 dB for the inverse mapping rendering technique. The third part concentrates on the compression problem of multi-view texture and depth video (Chapters 5–7). In Chapter 5, we extend the standard H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video compression algorithm for handling the compression of multi-view video. As opposed to the Multi-view Video Coding (MVC) standard that encodes only the multi-view texture data, the proposed encoder peforms the compression of both the texture and the depth multi-view sequences. The proposed extension is based on exploiting the correlation between the multiple camera views. To this end, two different approaches for predictive coding of views have been investigated: a block-based disparity-compensated prediction technique and a View Synthesis Prediction (VSP) scheme. Whereas VSP relies on an accurate depth image, the block-based disparity-compensated prediction scheme can be performed without any geometry information. Our encoder adaptively selects the most appropriate prediction scheme using a rate-distortion criterion for an optimal prediction-mode selection. We present experimental results for several texture and depth multi-view sequences, yielding a quality improvement of up to 0.6 dB for the texture and 3.2 dB for the depth, when compared to solely performing H.264/MPEG-4AVC disparitycompensated prediction. Additionally, we discuss the trade-off between the random-access to a user-selected view and the coding efficiency. Experimental results illustrating and quantifying this trade-off are provided. In Chapter 6, we focus on the compression of a depth signal. We present a novel depth image coding algorithm which concentrates on the special characteristics of depth images: smooth regions delineated by sharp edges. The algorithm models these smooth regions using parameterized piecewiselinear functions and sharp edges by a straight line, so that it is more efficient than a conventional transform-based encoder. To optimize the quality of the coding system for a given bit rate, a special global rate-distortion optimization balances the rate against the accuracy of the signal representation. For typical bit rates, i.e., between 0.01 and 0.25 bit/pixel, experiments have revealed that the coder outperforms a standard JPEG-2000 encoder by 0.6-3.0 dB. Preliminary results were published in the Proceedings of 26th Symposium on Information Theory in the Benelux. In Chapter 7, we propose a novel joint depth-texture bit-allocation algorithm for the joint compression of texture and depth images. The described algorithm combines the depth and texture Rate-Distortion (R-D) curves, to obtain a single R-D surface that allows the optimization of the joint bit-allocation in relation to the obtained rendering quality. Experimental results show an estimated gain of 1 dB compared to a compression performed without joint bit-allocation optimization. Besides this, our joint R-D model can be readily integrated into an multi-view H.264/MPEG-4 AVC coder because it yields the optimal compression setting with a limited computation effort

Selected topics in video coding and computer vision

Video applications ranging from multimedia communication to computer vision have been extensively studied in the past decades. However, the emergence of new applications continues to raise questions that are only partially answered by existing techniques. This thesis studies three selected topics related to video: intra prediction in block-based video coding, pedestrian detection and tracking in infrared imagery, and multi-view video alignment.;In the state-of-art video coding standard H.264/AVC, intra prediction is defined on the hierarchical quad-tree based block partitioning structure which fails to exploit the geometric constraint of edges. We propose a geometry-adaptive block partitioning structure and a new intra prediction algorithm named geometry-adaptive intra prediction (GAIP). A new texture prediction algorithm named geometry-adaptive intra displacement prediction (GAIDP) is also developed by extending the original intra displacement prediction (IDP) algorithm with the geometry-adaptive block partitions. Simulations on various test sequences demonstrate that intra coding performance of H.264/AVC can be significantly improved by incorporating the proposed geometry adaptive algorithms.;In recent years, due to the decreasing cost of thermal sensors, pedestrian detection and tracking in infrared imagery has become a topic of interest for night vision and all weather surveillance applications. We propose a novel approach for detecting and tracking pedestrians in infrared imagery based on a layered representation of infrared images. Pedestrians are detected from the foreground layer by a Principle Component Analysis (PCA) based scheme using the appearance cue. To facilitate the task of pedestrian tracking, we formulate the problem of shot segmentation and present a graph matching-based tracking algorithm. Simulations with both OSU Infrared Image Database and WVU Infrared Video Database are reported to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of our algorithms.;Multi-view video alignment is a process to facilitate the fusion of non-synchronized multi-view video sequences for various applications including automatic video based surveillance and video metrology. In this thesis, we propose an accurate multi-view video alignment algorithm that iteratively aligns two sequences in space and time. To achieve an accurate sub-frame temporal alignment, we generalize the existing phase-correlation algorithm to 3-D case. We also present a novel method to obtain the ground-truth of the temporal alignment by using supplementary audio signals sampled at a much higher rate. The accuracy of our algorithm is verified by simulations using real-world sequences

Energy efficient enabling technologies for semantic video processing on mobile devices

Semantic object-based processing will play an increasingly important role in future multimedia systems due to the ubiquity of digital multimedia capture/playback technologies and increasing storage capacity. Although the object based paradigm has many undeniable benefits, numerous technical challenges remain before the applications becomes pervasive, particularly on computational constrained mobile devices. A fundamental issue is the ill-posed problem of semantic object segmentation. Furthermore, on battery powered mobile computing devices, the additional algorithmic complexity of semantic object based processing compared to conventional video processing is highly undesirable both from a real-time operation and battery life perspective. This thesis attempts to tackle these issues by firstly constraining the solution space and focusing on the human face as a primary semantic concept of use to users of mobile devices. A novel face detection algorithm is proposed, which from the outset was designed to be amenable to be offloaded from the host microprocessor to dedicated hardware, thereby providing real-time performance and reducing power consumption. The algorithm uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), whose topology and weights are evolved via a genetic algorithm (GA). The computational burden of the ANN evaluation is offloaded to a dedicated hardware accelerator, which is capable of processing any evolved network topology. Efficient arithmetic circuitry, which leverages modified Booth recoding, column compressors and carry save adders, is adopted throughout the design. To tackle the increased computational costs associated with object tracking or object based shape encoding, a novel energy efficient binary motion estimation architecture is proposed. Energy is reduced in the proposed motion estimation architecture by minimising the redundant operations inherent in the binary data. Both architectures are shown to compare favourable with the relevant prior art

An application specific low bit-rate video compression system geared towards vehicle tracking.

Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.The ability to communicate over a low bit-rate transmission channel has become the order of the day. In the past, transmitted data over a low bit-rate transmission channel, such as a wireless link, has typically been reserved for speech and data. However, there is currently a great deal of interest being shown in the ability to transmit streaming video over such a link. These transmission channels are generally bandwidth limited hence bit-rates need to be low. Video on the other hand requires large amounts of bandwidth for real-time streaming applications. Existing Video Compression standards such as MPEG-l/2 have succeeded in reducing the bandwidth required for transmission by exploiting redundant video information in both the spatial and temporal domains. However such compression systems are geared towards general applications hence they tend not to be suitable for low bit-rate applications. The objective of this work is to implement such a system. Following an investigation in the field of video compression, existing techniques have been adapted and integrated into an application specific low bit-rate video compression system. The implemented system is application specific as it has been designed to track vehicles of reasonable size within an otherwise static scene. Low bit-rate video is achieved by separating a video scene into two areas of interest, namely the background scene and objects that move with reference to this background. Once the background has been compressed and transmitted to the decoder, the only data that is subsequently transmitted is that that has resulted from the segmentation and tracking of vehicles within the scene. This data is normally small in comparison with that of the background scene and therefore by only updating the background periodically, the resulting average output bit-rate is low. The implemented system is divided into two parts, namely a still image encoder and decoder based on a Variable Block-Size Discrete Cosine Transform, and a context-specific encoder and decoder that tracks vehicles in motion within a video scene. The encoder system has been implemented on the Philips TriMedia TM-1300 digital signal processor (DSP). The encoder is able to capture streaming video, compress individual video frames as well as track objects in motion within a video scene. The decoder on the other hand has been implemented on the host PC in which the TriMedia DSP is plugged. A graphic user interface allows a system operator to control the compression system by configuring various compression variables. For demonstration purposes, the host PC displays the decoded video stream as well as calculated rate metrics such as peak signal to noise ratio and resultant bit-rate. The implementation of the compression system is described whilst incorporating application examples and results. Conclusions are drawn and suggestions for further improvement are offered

Analog parallel processor solutions for video encoding

This thesis deals with Cellular Nonlinear Network (CNN) analog parallel processor networks and their implementations in current video coding standards. The target applications are low-power video encoders within 3rd generation mobile terminals. The video codecs of such mobile terminals are defined by either the MPEG-4/H.263 or H.264 video standard. All of these standards are based on the block-based hybrid approach. As block-based motion estimation (ME) is responsible for most of the power consumption of such hybrid video encoders, this thesis deals mostly with low-power ME implementations. Low-power solutions are introduced at both the algorithmic and hardware levels. On the algorithmic level, the introduced implementations are derived from a segmentation algorithm, which has previously been partly realized. The first introduced algorithm reduces the computational complexity of ME within an object-based MPEG-4 encoder. The use of this algorithm enables a 60% drop in the power consumption of Full Search ME. The second algorithm calculates a near-optimal block-size partition for H.264 motion estimation. With this algorithm, the use of computationally complex Lagrange optimization in H.264 ME is not required. The third algorithm reduces the shape bit-rate of an object-based MPEG-4 encoder. On the hardware level a CNN-type ME architecture is introduced. The architecture includes connections and circuitry to fully realize block-based ME. The analog ME implemented with this architecture is capable of lower power than comparable digital realizations. A 9×9 test chip has also been realized. Additionally implemented is a digital predictive ME realization that takes advantage of the introduced partition algorithm. Although the IC layout of the ME algorithm was drawn, the design was verified as an FPGA.reviewe

Construction de mosaïques de super-résolution à partir de la vidéo de basse résolution. Application au résumé vidéo et la dissimulation d'erreurs de transmission.

La numérisation des vidéos existantes ainsi que le développement explosif des services multimédia par des réseaux comme la diffusion de la télévision numérique ou les communications mobiles ont produit une énorme quantité de vidéos compressées. Ceci nécessite des outils d’indexation et de navigation efficaces, mais une indexation avant l’encodage n’est pas habituelle. L’approche courante est le décodage complet des ces vidéos pour ensuite créer des indexes. Ceci est très coûteux et par conséquent non réalisable en temps réel. De plus, des informations importantes comme le mouvement, perdus lors du décodage, sont reestimées bien que déjà présentes dans le flux comprimé. Notre but dans cette thèse est donc la réutilisation des données déjà présents dans le flux comprimé MPEG pour l’indexation et la navigation rapide. Plus précisément, nous extrayons des coefficients DC et des vecteurs de mouvement. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous sommes en particulier intéressés à la construction de mosaïques à partir des images DC extraites des images I. Une mosaïque est construite par recalage et fusion de toutes les images d’une séquence vidéo dans un seul système de coordonnées. Ce dernier est en général aligné avec une des images de la séquence : l’image de référence. Il en résulte une seule image qui donne une vue globale de la séquence. Ainsi, nous proposons dans cette thèse un système complet pour la construction des mosaïques à partir du flux MPEG-1/2 qui tient compte de différentes problèmes apparaissant dans des séquences vidéo réeles, comme par exemple des objets en mouvment ou des changements d’éclairage. Une tâche essentielle pour la construction d’une mosaïque est l’estimation de mouvement entre chaque image de la séquence et l’image de référence. Notre méthode se base sur une estimation robuste du mouvement global de la caméra à partir des vecteurs de mouvement des images P. Cependant, le mouvement global de la caméra estimé pour une image P peut être incorrect car il dépend fortement de la précision des vecteurs encodés. Nous détectons les images P concernées en tenant compte des coefficients DC de l’erreur encodée associée et proposons deux méthodes pour corriger ces mouvements. Unemosaïque construite à partir des images DC a une résolution très faible et souffre des effets d’aliasing dus à la nature des images DC. Afin d’augmenter sa résolution et d’améliorer sa qualité visuelle, nous appliquons une méthode de super-résolution basée sur des rétro-projections itératives. Les méthodes de super-résolution sont également basées sur le recalage et la fusion des images d’une séquence vidéo, mais sont accompagnées d’une restauration d’image. Dans ce cadre, nous avons développé une nouvelleméthode d’estimation de flou dû au mouvement de la caméra ainsi qu’une méthode correspondante de restauration spectrale. La restauration spectrale permet de traiter le flou globalement, mais, dans le cas des obvi jets ayant un mouvement indépendant du mouvement de la caméra, des flous locaux apparaissent. C’est pourquoi, nous proposons un nouvel algorithme de super-résolution dérivé de la restauration spatiale itérative de Van Cittert et Jansson permettant de restaurer des flous locaux. En nous basant sur une segmentation d’objets en mouvement, nous restaurons séparément lamosaïque d’arrière-plan et les objets de l’avant-plan. Nous avons adapté notre méthode d’estimation de flou en conséquence. Dans une premier temps, nous avons appliqué notre méthode à la construction de résumé vidéo avec pour l’objectif la navigation rapide par mosaïques dans la vidéo compressée. Puis, nous établissions comment la réutilisation des résultats intermédiaires sert à d’autres tâches d’indexation, notamment à la détection de changement de plan pour les images I et à la caractérisation dumouvement de la caméra. Enfin, nous avons exploré le domaine de la récupération des erreurs de transmission. Notre approche consiste en construire une mosaïque lors du décodage d’un plan ; en cas de perte de données, l’information manquante peut être dissimulée grace à cette mosaïque