Patent US 7,130,490

The present invention provides a process for accurately combining low-resolution and high-resolution video streams into a single seamless display to a human observer. The present invention also provides a method for the smooth blending of high- and low-resolution video boundary. In order to create an effective visual display, it is advantageous that the boundary between high- and low-resolution video not be overly distracting and irregular. The present method to reduce distractions from the quadrilateral boundary between low-and high-resolution video by smoothly blending the two in an annular region between the two. This results in a much more visually pleasing, effective display. The present invention also provides a method for progressively mosaicking high resolution imagery over a low resolution image captured by our panoramic sensor. The observer is continuously presented with a low-resolution panoramic image of a remote scene, and this image is updated with high-resolution imagery from the high-resolution sensor, at selected locations of interest, as they are available.