Motion/saturation detection system and method for synthesizing high dynamic range motion blur free images from multiple captures
First Claim
1. A method for preventing motion/saturation from corrupting image capturing during a global exposure time of a sensor, comprising:
- performing for each pixel of said sensor;
a) determining a difference between an illumination measurement obtained during current image capturing and an illumination estimation generated during previous image capturing;
b) comparing said difference with a threshold value; and
c) determining, based on step b), whether motion/saturation has occurred.
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Abstract
Motion/Saturation detection system and method for synthesizing high dynamic range motion blur free images from multiple captures, the system and method utilizing photocurrent estimation to reduce read noise and enhance dynamic range at the low illumination end, saturation detection to enhance dynamic range at the high illumination end, and motion blur detection to ensure the photocurrent estimation is not corrupted by motion. Motion blur detection also makes it possible to extend exposure time and to capture more images, which can be used to further enhance dynamic range at the low illumination end. The present invention operates completely locally, making it well suited for single chip digital camera implementations.
75 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method for preventing motion/saturation from corrupting image capturing during a global exposure time of a sensor, comprising:
performing for each pixel of said sensor;
a) determining a difference between an illumination measurement obtained during current image capturing and an illumination estimation generated during previous image capturing;
b) comparing said difference with a threshold value; and
c) determining, based on step b), whether motion/saturation has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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22. A method for synthesizing from multiple captures high dynamic range motion blur free images, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) capturing a first image sample;
b) generating for each pixel a current illumination estimation based on said first captured image sample;
c) capturing a next image sample;
d) determining for each pixel whether motion/saturation has occurred and whether to include said next image sample;
e) repeat steps c) and d) until no more image samples are to be captured. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A system having a sensor capable of capturing a multiplicity of image samples during a global exposure time, comprising:
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motion/saturation detecting means for determining for each pixel whether motion/saturation has occurred between a previous capturing and a current capturing;
processing means for determining for each pixel whether to accept an image sample captured during said current capturing;
estimating means for generating an optimal illumination estimation for said sensor based on selectively accepted multiplicity of image samples captured during said global exposure time thereby preventing motion/saturation from corrupting image capturing. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification