Image sequence coding by split and merge

A method is described for reducing the information contained in an image sequence, while retaining the information necessary for the interpretation of the sequence by a human observer. The method consists of first locating the redundant information, reducing the degree of redundancy, and coding the result. The sequence is treated as a single 3D data volume, the voxels of which are grouped into several regions, obtained by a 3D split and merge algorithm. The information is coded by representing the borders of the regions using a pyramidal structure in the x, y, t space. The coefficients of the approximating polynomials are coded in a straightforward manner. For 256×256 pixel, 25 frame/s image sequences, compressions allowing transmission rates near 64 kbit/s are obtained