IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20120287286A1
• Filed: 04/25/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nomura, Yoshikuni
• Application Number:
  US13/455,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20120287286A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/90 Dynamic range modification of images or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/131 including elements passing infrared wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/135 based on four or more different wavelength filter elements

Abstract

A mosaic image is input that is made up of a visible light component image in which mainly a visible light component has been captured and a non-visible light component image in which mainly a non-visible light component has been captured, and spectrally corrected images are generated in which spectral characteristics of each pixel have been corrected. Contrast enhancement processing is then performed on one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated and that includes the non-visible light component, and a non-visible light component image is generated in which contrast has been enhanced. A spectral correction portion generates the spectrally corrected images by performing a matrix computation that uses a spectral characteristics correction matrix M that is generated using information on ideal spectral characteristics.

Claims

1. An image processing device, comprising:

a spectral correction portion that inputs a mosaic image that is made up of a visible light component pixel in which mainly a visible light component has been captured and a non-visible light component pixel in which mainly a non-visible light component has been captured, and that generates spectrally corrected images in which spectral characteristics of each pixel have been corrected; and

a contrast enhancement portion that performs contrast enhancement processing on one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated by the spectral correction portion and that includes the non-visible light component, and that generates a non-visible light component image in which contrast has been enhanced.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an interpolation portion that performs interpolation processing on the mosaic image and generates an interpolated image in which a visible light component pixel value and a non-visible light component pixel value have been set for each pixel position,

wherein the spectral correction portion generates a spectrally corrected image in which the pixel values of the interpolated image that has been generated by the interpolation portion have been corrected.

3. The image processing device according to claim 2,

wherein the spectral correction portion generates the spectrally corrected image in which the pixel values of the interpolated image that has been generated by the interpolation portion have been corrected, by performing a matrix computation that uses a spectral characteristics correction matrix.

4. The image processing device according to claim 3,

wherein the spectral correction portion performs the matrix computation by computing the spectral characteristics correction matrix such that when an actual spectral characteristics matrix, whose elements are spectral transmittances that correspond to the spectral characteristics of an image capture device that captured the mosaic image, is multiplied by the spectral characteristics correction matrix, the resulting product will be closer to an ideal spectral characteristics matrix, whose elements are spectral transmittances that correspond to ideal spectral characteristics, than is the actual spectral characteristics matrix.

5. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the contrast enhancement portion, with respect to the one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated by the spectral correction portion and that includes the non-visible light component, performs processing that compresses a global luminance component and enhances a contrast component.

6. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the contrast enhancement portion performs edge enhancement processing with respect to the one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated by the spectral correction portion and that includes the non-visible light component.

7. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the contrast enhancement portion, with respect to the one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated by the spectral correction portion and that includes the non-visible light component, performs the contrast enhancement processing using a tone curve.

8. An image capture apparatus, comprising:

an image capture device that includes a single panel color image capture element that generates a mosaic image that is made up of a visible light component pixel in which mainly a visible light component has been captured and a non-visible light component pixel in which mainly a non-visible light component has been captured;

a spectral correction portion that inputs the mosaic image that the image capture device has generated, and that generates spectrally corrected images in which spectral characteristics of each pixel have been corrected; and

a contrast enhancement portion that performs contrast enhancement processing on one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated by the spectral correction portion and that includes the non-visible light component, and that generates a non-visible light component image in which contrast has been enhanced.

9. An image processing method that is implemented in an image capture apparatus, comprising:

inputting a mosaic image that is made up of a visible light component pixel in which mainly a visible light component has been captured and a non-visible light component pixel in which mainly a non-visible light component has been captured, and generating spectrally corrected images in which spectral characteristics of each pixel have been corrected; and

performing contrast enhancement processing on one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated and that includes the non-visible light component, and generating a non-visible light component image in which contrast has been enhanced.

10. A program that causes image processing to be performed in an image processing device, the program comprising:

inputting a mosaic image that is made up of a visible light component pixel in which mainly a visible light component has been captured and a non-visible light component pixel in which mainly a non-visible light component has been captured, and generating spectrally corrected images in which spectral characteristics of each pixel have been corrected; and

performing contrast enhancement processing on one of the spectrally corrected images that has been generated and that includes the non-visible light component, and generating a non-visible light component image in which contrast has been enhanced.