Chroma Key Using a Checker Pattern Background

In this paper, we propose a new region extraction method using chroma key with a two-tone checker pattern background. The method solves the problem in conventional chroma key techniques that foreground objects become transparent if their colors are the same as the background color. The method utilizes the adjacency condition between two-tone regions of the background and the geometrical information of the background grid line. The procedure of the proposed method consists of four steps: 1) background color extraction, 2) background grid line extraction, 3) foreground extraction, and 4) image composition. As to background color extraction, a color space approach is used. As to background grid line extraction, it is difficult to extract background grid line by a color space approach because the color of this region may be a composite of two background colors and different from them. Therefore, the background grid line is extracted from adjacency conditions between two background colors. As to foreground extraction, the boundary between the foreground and the background is detected to recheck the foreground region whose color is same as the background, and the background region whose color is same as the foreground. To detect regions whose colors are same as the background, the adjacency conditions with the background grid line are utilized. As to image composition, the process that smoothes the color of the foreground's boundary against the new background is carried out to create natural images. Experimental results show that the foreground objects can be segmented exactly from the background regardless of the colors of the foreground objects.

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