IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20110013039A1
• Filed: 07/09/2010
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Aisaka, Kazuki, Murayama, Jun, Yokokawa, Masatoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,698,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20021 Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30168 Image quality inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0002 Inspection of images, e.g. flaw detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6811 based on the image signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/142 Edging; Contouring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/145 Movement estimation for video coding H04N19/51

Abstract

An apparatus for improving the quality of a captured image may include a first computing unit, a second computing unit, and an advice generating unit. The first computing unit may be configured to compute a first value representing a first aspect of the quality of a first image. The second computing unit may be configured to compute a second value representing a second aspect of the quality of the first image. The advice generating unit may be configured to generate advice for capturing a second image based on at least one of the first and second computed values.

Claims

1. An apparatus for improving the quality of a captured image, comprising:

a first computing unit configured to compute a first value representing a first aspect of the quality of a first image;

a second computing unit configured to compute a second value representing a second aspect of the quality of the first image; and

an advice generating unit configured to generate advice for capturing a second image based on at least one of the first and second computed values.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first computing unit is configured to separate a foreground portion of the first image from a background portion of the first image, and the first value is computed based on either the foreground portion or the background portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first value is associated with a luminance of the first image, and is computed based on the foreground portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first value is associated with a background complexity of the first image, and is computed based on the background portion.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second value is computed based on both the foreground and the background portion.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second value is computed based on a portion of the first image on which the computation of the first value is not based.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the advice generating unit is configured to compare the first value to a first predetermined threshold, and the advice for capturing the second image is based on a result of the comparison between the first value and the first predetermined threshold.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the advice generating unit is configured to compare the second value to a second predetermined threshold, and the advice for capturing the second image is also based on a result of the comparison between the second value and the second predetermined threshold.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second value is associated with a blurriness of the first image.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second value is associated with a color saturation of the first image.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a third computing unit configured to compute a third value representing a third aspect of the quality of the first image, wherein the advice for capturing the second image is also based on the third value.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further including a fourth computing unit configured to compute a fourth value representing a fourth aspect of the quality of the first image, wherein the advice for capturing the second image is also based on the fourth value.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a display unit configured to display the generated advice.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the generated advice includes text.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the generated advice includes advice indicating that a portion of the second image should be in focus.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the generated advice includes advice indicating whether a flash should be turned on.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the generated advice includes advice indicating how a white balance should be adjusted.

18. A camera, comprising:

a first computing unit configured to compute a first value representing a first aspect of the quality of a first image;

a second computing unit configured to compute a second value representing a second aspect of the quality of the first image;

an advice generating unit configured to generate advice for capturing a second image based on at least one of the first and second computed values; and

a display unit configured to display the generated advice.

19. A method for improving the quality of a captured image, comprising:

computing a first value representing a first aspect of the quality of a first image;

computing a second value representing a second aspect of the quality of the first image; and

generating advice for capturing a second image based on at least one of the first and second computed values.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a processor, causes a computer to perform a method for improving the quality of a captured image, the method comprising:

computing a first value representing a first aspect of the quality of a first image;

computing a second value representing a second aspect of the quality of the first image; and

generating advice for capturing a second image based on at least one of the first and second computed values.