A method of automatically estimating the layout of a sequentially ordered
series of frames to be used to form a panorama comprises examining frames
of the series to determine an initial flow direction and identifying a
first interruption in the series of frames. The frames are then ranked in
an evenly ranked matrix according to matrix dimensions based at least
partly upon the initial flow direction and characteristics of the first
interruption. An apparatus and computer readable media embodying a
computer program for automatically estimating the layout of a
sequentially ordered series of frames to be used to form a panorama are
also provided.