Apple Inc.
KEYPOINT DETECTION CIRCUIT FOR PROCESSING IMAGE PYRAMID IN RECURSIVE MANNER

Abstract:

Embodiments relate a keypoint detection circuit for identifying keypoints in captured image frames. The keypoint detection circuit generates an image pyramid based upon a received image frame, and determine multiple sets of keypoints for each octave of the pyramid using different levels of blur. In some embodiments, the keypoint detection circuit includes multiple branches, each branch made up of one or more circuits for determining a different set of keypoints from the image, or for determining a subsampled image for a subsequent octave of the pyramid. By determining multiple sets of keypoints for each of a plurality of pyramid octaves, a larger, more varied set of keypoints can be obtained and used for object detection and matching between images.