SUPER-RESOLUTION DEVICE AND METHOD

• US 20110268370A1
• Filed: 07/07/2011
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: MATSUMOTO, Nobuyuki, Ida, Takashi, Takeshima, Hidenori, Isogawa, Kenzo, Taguchi, Yasunori
• Granted Patent: US 8,170,376 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4069 by subpixel displacements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0125 one of the standards being a high definition standard

Abstract

A super-resolution device and method for setting at least one of a plurality of pixels included in image data as target pixels, the image data including pixels arranged in a screen and pixel values representing brightness, an area including the target pixel and peripheral pixels as a target area, and an area for searching pixel value change patterns in the target pixel area; calculating a difference between a first change pattern and second change pattern; comparing a difference between the first and second change patterns; calculating a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than a number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of a decimal-accuracy-vector, an extrapolated vector, and pixel values obtained from the image data.

Claims

1. A super-resolution device, comprising:

a candidate area setting unit configured to set

at least one of a plurality of pixels included in image data as a target pixel, the image data including the plurality of pixels arranged in a screen and corresponding pixel values representing pixel brightness of the pixels,

an area including the target pixel and pixels in the periphery of the target pixel as a target pixel area within the screen, and

a search area for searching a plurality of change patterns of pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area within the screen;

an over sampling unit configured to interpolate another pixel between pixels of the image data;

a matching difference calculating unit configured to calculate a difference between a first change pattern of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area and a second change pattern of pixel values of pixels included in the search area, the pixels included in the search area including a searched pixel in the search area and the pixels in the periphery of the searched pixels;

an integral-accuracy-vector calculating unit configured to compare differences of change patterns of respective pixels in the search area calculated by the matching difference calculating unit to obtain a pixel position with minimum difference and calculate an integral-accuracy-vector starting from the target pixel and terminating at the search pixel;

an extrapolated vector calculating unit configured to calculate an extrapolated vector of the integral-accuracy-vector from the search pixel to a pixel on the screen which is not included in the search area using the integral-accuracy-vector; and

a super-resolution pixel value calculating unit configured to calculate a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than a number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of the integral-accuracy-vector, the extrapolated vector, and pixel values obtained from the image data.

2. A super-resolution device, comprising:

a candidate area setting unit configured to set

at least one of a plurality of pixels included in image data as a target pixel, the image data including the plurality of pixels arranged in a screen and corresponding pixel values representing pixel brightness of the pixels,

an area including the target pixel and pixels in the periphery of the target pixel as a target pixel area within the screen, and

first and second search areas for searching a plurality of change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area within the screen;

an over sampling unit configured to interpolate another pixel between pixels of the image data;

a matching difference calculating unit configured to calculate first and second differences between change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area and first and second change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the first and second areas, the pixels included in the first and second areas including first and second searched pixels in the first and second search areas and the pixels in the periphery of the first and second searched pixels in the interpolated image data;

an integral-accuracy-vector calculating unit configured to compare respective differences of change patterns of the first and second search area calculated by the matching difference calculating unit to obtain a first pixel position and a second pixel position with a minimum difference respectively, and calculate first and second integral-accuracy-vectors starting from the target pixel and terminating respectively at the first and second pixel positions;

an interpolated vector calculating unit configured to calculate interpolated vectors of the first and second integral-accuracy-vectors from the first and second pixel positions to a pixel on the screen which is not included in the first and second search areas using the first and second integral-accuracy-vectors; and

a super-resolution pixel value calculating unit configured to calculate a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than the number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of the integral-accuracy-vectors, the interpolated vector and pixel values obtained from the image data.

3. A super-resolution device comprising:

a candidate area setting unit configured to set

at least one of a plurality of pixels included in image data as a target pixel, the image data including the plurality of pixels arranged in a screen and corresponding pixel values representing pixel brightness of the pixels,

an area including the target pixel and pixels in the periphery of the target pixel as a target pixel area within the screen, and

a search area for searching a plurality of change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area within the screen;

an over sampling unit configured to interpolate another pixel between pixels of the image data;

a matching difference calculating unit configured to calculate a difference between a first change pattern of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area and a second change pattern of pixel values of pixels included in the search area, the pixels in the search area including a searched pixel in a search area and the pixels in the periphery of the searched pixel;

an integral-accuracy-vector calculating unit configured to compare differences of the change patterns first and second by the matching difference calculating unit to obtain a first pixel position with a minimum difference and calculate an integral-accuracy-vector starting from the target pixel and terminating at the search pixel;

a congruent vector calculating unit configured to calculate a congruent vector of the integral-accuracy-vector from the search pixel to a pixel on the screen which is not included in the search area using the integral-accuracy-vector; and

a super-resolution pixel value calculating unit configured to calculate a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than a number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of the integral-accuracy-vector, the congruent vector, and pixel values obtained from the image data.

4. A super-resolution method, comprising:

setting at least one of a plurality of pixels included in an image data as a target pixel, the image data including the plurality of pixels arranged in a screen and corresponding pixel values representing pixel brightness,

setting an area including the target pixel and pixels in the periphery of the target pixel as a target pixel area,

setting a search area for searching a plurality of change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area within the screen;

interpolating another pixel between the pixels of the image data in which the target pixel area and the search area are set to generate an interpolated image data;

calculating a difference between the change pattern of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area and a change pattern of the pixel values of the pixels included in the search area, the pixels in the search area including a searched pixel in the search area and the pixels in the periphery of the searched pixels;

comparing differences of the change patterns of the respective pixels in the search area to obtain a first pixel position with the minimum difference and calculating an integral-accuracy-vector starting from the target pixel and terminating at the search pixel;

calculating an extrapolated vector of the integral-accuracy-vector from the search pixel to a pixel on the screen which is not included in the search area using the integral-accuracy-vector; and

calculating a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than a number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of the integral-accuracy-vector, the extrapolated vector, and pixel values obtained from the image data.

5. A super-resolution method, comprising:

setting at least one of a plurality of pixels included in an image data as a target pixel, the image data including the plurality of pixels arranged in a screen and corresponding pixel values representing pixel brightness of the pixels,

setting an area including the target pixel and pixels in the periphery of the target pixel a as target pixel area,

setting first and second search areas for searching a plurality of change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area within the screen;

interpolating another pixel between the pixels of the image data in which the target pixel area and the first and second search areas are set to generate an interpolated image data;

calculating first and second differences between the change pattern of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area and first and second change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the first and second areas, said pixels included in the first and second areas including the first and second searched pixels in the first and second search areas and the pixels in the periphery of the first and second searched pixels in the interpolated image data;

comparing the respective differences of the change patterns of the first and second search areas to obtain a first pixel position and a second pixel position with a minimum difference respectively, and calculating first and second integral-accuracy-vectors starting at the target pixel and terminating respectively at the first and second pixels;

calculating the interpolated vectors of the first and second integral-accuracy-vectors from the first and second pixels to a pixel on the screen which is not included in the first and second search areas using the first and second integral-accuracy-vectors; and

calculating a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than the number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of the integral-accuracy-vectors, the interpolated vector and a pixel values obtained from the image data.

6. A super-resolution method, comprising:

setting at least one of a plurality of pixels included in image data as a target pixel, the image data including the plurality of pixels arranged in a screen and corresponding pixel values representing the brightness,

setting an area including the target pixel and pixels in the periphery of the target pixel as a target pixel area,

setting a search area for searching a plurality of change patterns of the pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area within the screen;

interpolating another pixel between the pixels of the image data in which the target pixel area and the search area are set to generate an interpolated image data;

calculating a difference between a change pattern of pixel values of the pixels included in the target pixel area and a change pattern of pixel values of the pixels included in the search area, the pixels in the search area including the searched pixel in a search area and the pixels in the periphery of the searched pixel;

comparing differences of the change patterns of the respective pixels in the search area to obtain a first pixel position with the minimum difference and calculating an integral-accuracy-vector starting from the target pixel and terminating at the search pixel;

calculating a congruent vector of the integral-accuracy-vector from the search pixel to a pixel on the screen which is not included in the search area using the integral-accuracy-vector; and

calculating a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than a number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of the integral-accuracy-vector, the congruent vector, and a pixel values obtained from the image data.