IMAGE NOISE REDUCTION APPARATUS AND METHOD, RECORDED MEDIUM RECORDED THE PROGRAM PERFORMING IT

• US 20090190853A1
• Filed: 08/10/2007
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mtekvision Co.Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mtekvision Co.Ltd.
• Inventors: Noh, Yo-Hwan
• Application Number:
  US12/307,060
• Publication Number:
  US 20090190853A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/409 Edge or detail enhancement; Noise or error suppression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/60 Noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/61 the noise originating only from the lens unit, e.g. flare, shading, vignetting or "cos4"

Abstract

An apparatus and a method of reducing a noise component existed in a surrounding part of an image photographed in an image sensor. According to an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus differentially reducing a noise of an image according to an area of the image includes a filter area selecting unit, selecting a filter area including a plurality of adjacent pixels based on an object pixel; and a noise reducing unit, computing pixel data of the object by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area, whereas the filter area selecting unit determines the size of the filter area according to the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image. The present invention can prevent a noise component of a surrounding part from being amplified by using a different low pass filter in a center part and a surrounding part of an image and can acquire the resolution and quality of the desired image.

Claims

1. An apparatus differentially reducing a noise of an image photographed in an image sensor according to an area of the image, the apparatus comprising:

a filter area selecting unit, selecting a filter area including a plurality of adjacent pixels based on an object pixel; and

a noise reducing unit, computing pixel data of the object by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area,

whereas the filter area selecting unit determines the size of the filter area according to the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the filter area has a N×

N sized window based on the object pixel, the N being a natural number, and the N is determined corresponding to a shading curve of the image.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the noise reducing unit has a feature of a low pass filter.

4. An apparatus differentially reducing a noise of an image photographed in an image sensor according to an area of the image, the apparatus comprising:

a filter area selecting unit, selecting a filter area including a plurality of adjacent pixels based on an object pixel; and

a noise reducing unit, reducing a noise of pixel data of the object pixel by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area,

whereas the noise reducing unit determines each weight of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area according to the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image.

5. The apparatus of claim 4,

wherein the wider the distance between the object pixel and the center pixel is, the more similar each weight of the adjacent pixels is.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the filter area has a N×

N sized window based on the object pixel, the N being a natural number, and the N is determined corresponding to a shading curve of the image.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the noise reducing unit has a feature of a low pass filter.

8. A method differentially reducing a noise of an image photographed in an image sensor according to an area of the image, the method comprising:

(a) selecting an object pixel, a noise of which is to be reduced, of the pixels of the image;

(b) computing the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image;

(c) determining the size of a filter area of the object pixel according to the computed distance; and

(d) computing pixel data of the object pixel by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area, the size of which is determined.

9. The method of claim 8,

further comprising (e) repeating the steps (a) through (d) for all pixels of the image or for pixels, beyond a predetermined distance from a center pixel of the image, of the pixels of the image.

10. The method of claim 8,

wherein the filter area has a N×

N sized window based on the object pixel, the N being a natural number, and the N is determined corresponding to a shading curve of the image.

11. A method differentially reducing a noise of an image photographed in an image sensor according to an area of the image, the method comprising:

(a) selecting an object pixel, a noise of which is to be reduced of the pixels of the image;

(b) computing, the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image;

(c) determining each weight of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area according to the computed distance; and

(d) computing pixel data of the object pixel by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area, applied with each of the weights.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wider the distance between the object pixel and the center pixel is the more similar each weight of the adjacent pixels is.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the step (c) comprises determining the size of the filter area as well as each weight according to the computed distance, and the step (d) comprises computing pixel data of the object pixel by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area, applied with the size of the filter area as well as each of the weights.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising (e) repeating the steps (a) through (d) for all pixels of the image or for pixels, beyond a predetermined distance from a center pixel of the image, of the pixels of the image.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the filter area has a N×

N sized window based on the object pixel, the N being a natural number, and the N is determined corresponding to a shading curve of the image.

16. A recording medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus in order to decrease the difference of noise components between a center part and a surrounding part of all image, the recording medium being readable by the digital processing apparatus,

the recording medium being recorded with a program performing a noise reduction method of the image, wherein the method comprising:

(a) selecting an object pixel, a noise of which is to be reduced, of the pixels of the image;

(b) computing the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image,

(c) determining the size of a filter area of the object pixel according to the computed distance; and

(d) computing pixel data of the object pixel by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area, the size of which is determined.

17. A recording medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus in order to decrease the difference of noise components between a center part and a surrounding part of an image, the recording medium being readable by the digital processing apparatus,

the recording medium being recorded with a program performing a noise reduction method of the image, wherein the method comprising:

(a) selecting an object pixel, a noise of which is to be reduced, of the pixels of the image;

(b) computing the distance between the object pixel and a center pixel of the image;

(c) determining each weight of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area according to the computed distance; and

(d) computing pixel data of the object pixel by using pixel data of the plurality of adjacent pixels in the filter area, applied with each of the weights.