Digital image stabilization with sub-image phase correlation based global motion estimation

This paper presents digital image stabilization with sub-image phase correlation based global motion estimation and Kalman filtering based motion correction. Global motion is estimated from the local motions of four sub-images each of which is detected using phase correlation based motion estimation. The global motion vector is decided according to the peak values of sub-image phase correlation surfaces, instead of impartial median filtering. The peak values of sub-image phase correlation surfaces reveal reliable local motion vectors, as poorly matched sub images result in considerably lower peaks in the phase correlation surface due to spread. The utilization of sub-images enables fast implementation of phase correlation based motion estimation. The global motion vectors of image frames are accumulated to obtain global displacement vectors, that are Kalman filtered for stabilization.