Bi-directional deformable block-based motion estimation for frame rate-up conversion of 360-degree videos

A bi-directional deformable block-based motion-estimation algorithm to improve the accuracy of a motion prediction in a 360-degree video, used for motion compensated frame-rate up conversion (MC-FRUC) is proposed. The block shapes are adaptively deformed to predict a motion based on the coordinate of the current block, considering the geometric property of the equi-rectangular projection of 360-degree videos. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique can significantly improve the visual quality of the videos as compared with the conventional MC-FRUC.