Create a mask from difference between two images (iPhone)

Question

How can I detect the difference between 2 images, creating a mask of the area that\'s different in order to process the area that\'s common to both images (gaussian blur for

Answer 1

I think the simplest way to do this would be to use a difference blend mode. The following code is based on code I use in CKImageAdditions.

+ (UIImage *) differenceOfImage:(UIImage *)top withImage:(UIImage *)bottom {
    CGImageRef topRef = [top CGImage];
    CGImageRef bottomRef = [bottom CGImage];

    // Dimensions
    CGRect bottomFrame = CGRectMake(0, 0, CGImageGetWidth(bottomRef), CGImageGetHeight(bottomRef));
    CGRect topFrame = CGRectMake(0, 0, CGImageGetWidth(topRef), CGImageGetHeight(topRef));
    CGRect renderFrame = CGRectIntegral(CGRectUnion(bottomFrame, topFrame));

    // Create context
    CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB();
    if(colorSpace == NULL) {
        printf("Error allocating color space.\n");
        return NULL;
    }

    CGContextRef context = CGBitmapContextCreate(NULL,
                                                 renderFrame.size.width,
                                                 renderFrame.size.height,
                                                 8,
                                                 renderFrame.size.width * 4,
                                                 colorSpace,
                                                 kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedLast);
    CGColorSpaceRelease(colorSpace);

    if(context == NULL) {
        printf("Context not created!\n");
        return NULL;
    }

    // Draw images
    CGContextSetBlendMode(context, kCGBlendModeNormal);
    CGContextDrawImage(context, CGRectOffset(bottomFrame, -renderFrame.origin.x, -renderFrame.origin.y), bottomRef);
    CGContextSetBlendMode(context, kCGBlendModeDifference);
    CGContextDrawImage(context, CGRectOffset(topFrame, -renderFrame.origin.x, -renderFrame.origin.y), topRef);

    // Create image from context
    CGImageRef imageRef = CGBitmapContextCreateImage(context);
    UIImage * image = [UIImage imageWithCGImage:imageRef];
    CGImageRelease(imageRef);

    CGContextRelease(context);

    return image;
}