Patent US 5,706,417

A moving image representation format and encoding and decoding techniques. In the format, the image is represented as a series of layers, each layer comprising one or more maps containing information about the image. In decoding the information, the maps are combined in an order dictated by their ordinal depth in the image. Each layer comprises 1) an intensity map representing the intensity of the pixels in that layer, 2) an attenuation map by which the image intensities of the layers below it are multiplied while the intensity map corresponding to its layer is multiplied by its complement, 3) a delta map that describes the temporal derivative of the points in the corresponding intensity map, and 4) a velocity map which describes how all points in the layer are warped over time.