Resolution and image quality improvements for small image sensors
First Claim
1. A process for generating a combined image, comprising:
- taking a plurality of images of a subject using a handheld device;
analyzing the images to determine relative motion of the images; and
for each pixel in the combined image, identifying one or more nearby pixel that after correcting for the determined relative motion of the images are less than a threshold distance from a location corresponding to the pixel in the combined image; and
determining a pixel value for the pixel in the combined images from one or more pixel values of the nearby pixels.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image having higher resolution and/or better color is generated from multiple images of a subject taken by a handheld imaging device. The motion of the device, even when a user holds the device steady, gives the images perspectives that differ by an amount ranging from a fraction of a pixel to a few pixels. The differences in perspective provide different information about the subject that can be combined to create a better image. In particular, an image shifted by a non-integer number of pixels relative to another image provides information about portions of the subject that are between the pixels of the other image and usable for increasing resolution. Images shifted relative to each other by an integer number of pixels have aligned pixels that may provide different color information for the same portion of the subject when the aligned pixels correspond sensor elements having different color filters.
29 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A process for generating a combined image, comprising:
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taking a plurality of images of a subject using a handheld device;
analyzing the images to determine relative motion of the images; and
for each pixel in the combined image, identifying one or more nearby pixel that after correcting for the determined relative motion of the images are less than a threshold distance from a location corresponding to the pixel in the combined image; and
determining a pixel value for the pixel in the combined images from one or more pixel values of the nearby pixels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification