COMPENSATING FOR BLOOMING OF A SHAPE IN AN IMAGE

• US 20100149340A1
• Filed: 05/04/2009
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Larsen, Eric, Mikhailov, Anton, Marks, Richard Lee
• Granted Patent: US 8,970,707 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/30 Erosion or dilatation, e.g. thinning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/77 Retouching; Inpainting; Scratch removal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/621 for the control of blooming

Abstract

A number of brightness samples are taken outside a shape to compensate for blooming of the shape in an image generated by a digital camera. The brightness of each of the samples is determined and averaged, and the size of the shape is adjusted based on the difference between the brightness of the shape and the average of the brightness samples.

Claims

1. A method to compensate for blooming of a shape in an image generated by a digital video camera, comprising;

sampling a plurality of pixels outside of the shape;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled pixels;

averaging the brightness of those sampled pixels; and

compensating for blooming of the shape based on the difference between a brightness of the shape and the average brightness of the sampled pixels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the brightness of the shape is determined by:

sampling one or more pixels within the shape in the image;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled one or more pixels within the shape; and

averaging those sampled pixels to determine the brightness of the shape.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the brightness of the shape is known.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein an object corresponding to the shape is a sphere, and the shape is an ellipse.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining the semi-major axis of the ellipse, wherein the compensating for blooming includes applying an empirical data mapping to adjust the semi-major axis based on the difference between the brightness of the shape and the average brightness of the sampled pixels.

6. A method to compensate for blooming of a shape in an image generated by a digital camera, comprising:

determining an edge of the shape;

sampling a plurality of pixels outside of the edge of the shape along a plurality of radii;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled pixels; and

for each sampled pixel, adjusting the corresponding radius based on the difference between a brightness of the shape and the brightness of the sampled pixel.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the brightness of the shape is determined by:

sampling one or more pixels within the shape in the image;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled one or more pixels within the shape; and

averaging those sampled pixels to determine the brightness of the shape.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the brightness of the shape is known.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein an object corresponding to the shape is a sphere, and the shape is an ellipse.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the adjustment of the corresponding radius is based on empirical mapping data.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining the edge of the shape includes determining the location and dimensions of the shape in the image.

12. A computing device to compensate for blooming of an object projected as a shape on an image generated by a digital camera, the computing device comprising:

a processor to execute instructions; and

a memory coupled with the processor, the memory having instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations including,

sampling a plurality of pixels outside of the shape,

determining a brightness of each of the sampled pixels,

averaging the brightness of those sampled pixels, and

compensating for blooming of the shape based on the difference between a brightness of the shape and the average brightness of the sampled pixels.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the brightness of the shape is determined by:

sampling one or more pixels within the shape in the image;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled one or more pixels within the shape; and

averaging those sampled pixels to determine the brightness of the shape.

14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the brightness of the shape is known.

15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the object corresponding to the shape is a sphere, and the shape is an ellipse.

16. The computing device of claim 15, further comprising the memory is to further store instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform determining the semi-major axis of the ellipse, wherein the compensating for blooming includes applying an empirical data mapping to adjust the semi-major axis based on the difference between the brightness of the shape and the average brightness of the sampled pixels.

17. A computing device to compensate for blooming of an object projected as a shape on an image, the computing device, comprising:

a processor to execute instructions; and

a memory coupled with the processor, the memory having instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations including;

determining an edge of the shape,

sampling a plurality of pixels outside of the edge of the shape along a plurality of radii,

determining a brightness of each of the sampled pixels, and

for each sampled pixel, adjusting the corresponding radius based on the difference between a brightness of the shape and the brightness of the sampled pixel.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the brightness of the shape is determined by:

sampling one or more pixels within the shape in the image;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled one or more pixels within the shape; and

averaging those sampled pixels to determine the brightness of the shape.

19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the brightness of the shape is known.

20. The computing device of claim 17, wherein an object corresponding to the shape is a sphere, and the shape is an ellipse.

21. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the adjustment of the corresponding radius is based on empirical mapping data.

22. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the determining the edge of the shape includes determining the location and dimensions of the shape in the image, wherein the edge of the shape includes pixels immediately surrounding the shape.

23. A machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a processor, will cause said processor to perform operations to compensate for blooming of a shape in an image generated by a digital camera, the operations comprising:

sampling a plurality of pixels outside of the shape;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled pixels;

averaging the brightness of those sampled pixels; and

compensating for blooming of the shape based on the difference between a brightness of the shape and the average brightness of the sampled pixels.

24. The machine-readable storage medium claim 23, wherein the brightness of the shape is determined by:

sampling one or more pixels within the shape in the image;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled one or more pixels within the shape; and

averaging those sampled pixels to determine the brightness of the shape.

25. The machine-readable storage medium claim 23, wherein the brightness of the shape is known.

26. The machine-readable storage medium claim 23, wherein an object corresponding to the shape is a sphere, and the shape is an ellipse.

27. The machine-readable storage medium claim 26, further comprising determining the semi-major axis of the ellipse, wherein the compensating for blooming includes applying an empirical data mapping to adjust the semi-major axis based on the difference between the brightness of the shape and the average brightness of the sampled pixels.

28. A machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a processor, will cause said processor to perform operations to compensate for blooming of a shape in an image generated by a digital camera, the operations comprising:

determining an edge of the shape;

sampling a plurality of pixels outside of the edge of the shape along a plurality of radii;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled pixels; and

for each sampled pixel, adjusting the corresponding radius based on the difference between a brightness of the shape and the brightness of the sampled pixel.

29. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the brightness of the shape is determined by:

sampling one or more pixels within the shape in the image;

determining a brightness of each of the sampled one or more pixels within the shape; and

averaging those sampled pixels to determine the shape'"'"'s brightness.

30. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the brightness of the shape is known.

31. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein an object corresponding to the shape is a sphere, and the shape is an ellipse.

32. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the adjustment of the corresponding radius is based on empirical mapping data.

33. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein determining the edge of the object includes determining the location and dimension of the shape in the image.

34. A method to prevent blooming from distorting the size of a shape in an image generated by a digital camera, the method comprising:

receiving an image including the shape from the digital camera, the shape corresponding to a three-dimensional object in a tracking system, the three-dimensional object being covered in a material that limits the angle of view of the three-dimensional object, wherein the material causes a halo to surround the shape in the image;

calculating the size of the shape in the image; and

using the calculated size of the shape to determine a location of the three-dimensional object in relation to the digital camera.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the three-dimensional object is a sphere and the shape is an ellipse.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein calculating the size of the shape includes calculating the x and y coordinates of the shape within the image.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the halo surrounding the shape is the same size regardless of what is behind the object when the image was generated.

38. A tracking system, comprising:

a tracked object covered in a material that limits the angle of view of the three-dimensional object;

an imaging device to generate a plurality of images including the tracked object as the tracked object is moved, the imaging device to transmit the plurality of images to a computing device, wherein the tracked object is projected as a shape onto the plurality of images, and wherein the material causes a halo to surround the shape in the plurality of images; and

the computing device including;

a processor to execute instructions, and

a memory coupled with the processor, the memory having instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations including;

receiving the plurality of images;

for each received image, determining the dimensions of the shape in the image, and using the dimensions of the shape to determine a location of the tracked object in relation to the imaging device.

39. The tracking system of claim 38, wherein determining the dimensions of the shape includes calculating the x and y coordinates of the shape within the image.

40. The tracking system of claim 38, wherein the halo surrounding the shape is the same size regardless of the amount of brightness of pixels surrounding the halo.

41. The tracking system of claim 38, wherein the tracked object is a sphere and each of the shapes are ellipses.

42. The tracking system of claim 38, wherein the tracked object is coupled with a game controller and the location of the tracked object relative to the imaging device controls actions associated with a video game.

43. The tracking system of claim 38, wherein the tracked object is one of a plurality of tracked objects in a motion capture system.