Physical Metaphor for Streaming Media Retargeting

We here introduce an image/video retargeting method that operates arbitrary aspect ratios resizing achieved in real-time performances. Most of the literature retargeting approaches sacrifice real-time performances in behalf of quality. On the other hand, existing fast methods provide arguable results. We can obtain a valuable trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency. The method named Spring Simulation Retargeting (SSR) is mainly based on a physical springs-based simulation. The media are assumed as flexible objects composed of particles and springs with different local stiffness properties, related to the visual importance of the content. The variation of the object size generates elastic forces which determine a new arrangement of the particles, according to the elongation of their connected springs. The deformations are mostly introduced in regions where low importance content is present, while high saliency regions are preserved as desired. The proposed method is evaluated and compared both for images and videos, against several state of the art methods and a user study is taken to assess the results, showing the value of the approach.