System and Method for Image Enhancement

• US 20130077888A1
• Filed: 09/28/2011
• Published: 03/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army (Government of the United States of America)
• Original Assignee: United States Secretary of the Army
• Inventors: MEYERS, RONALD E., DEACON, KEITH S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,532,427 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/274
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction

Abstract

A method and system for forming an improved image from a series of frames comprising inputting a pixel value array for each image frame; summing the pixel values in each frame to obtain the frame intensity for each frame; multiplying the pixels in pixel value array by the frame intensity; summing the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays together and dividing by the number of frames to obtain an average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays; then, using the inputted pixel value arrays, creating an array of average pixel values; multiplying the array of average pixel values by the average frame intensity for all of the inputted frames; and subtracting the array of average pixel values multiplied by average frame intensity from the average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays to provide an array of modified pixel values to form an improved image.

Claims

1. A method for image improvement comprising the following steps not necessarily in sequential order:

providing a series of frames of a given region of interest;

determining the value of each pixel at each location within each frame to form a pixel value array for each frame;

summing the pixel values in each frame to obtain the frame intensity for each frame;

multiplying the pixels in pixel value array by the frame intensity to produce a frame intensity multiplied pixel value array;

summing the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays together and dividing by the number of frames to obtain an average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays;

using the pixel value arrays, creating an array of average pixel values;

determining the average frame intensity for the series of frames;

multiplying the array of average pixel values by the average frame intensity for all of the inputted frames; and

subtracting the array of average pixel values multiplied by average frame intensity from the average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays to provide an array of modified pixel values to form an improved image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the frames inputted were influenced by the effects of turbulence or were taken in bad or changing weather.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing a series of frames of a given region of interest comprises computing the average frame intensity of a plurality of frames and arranging the frames into two sets;

the first set containing the frames having frame intensities greater than the average frame intensity and the second set containing frames having frame intensities less than the average frame intensity;

each of the first and second sets being processed by repeating steps set forth in claim 1 to obtain first and second results;

the result using the second set of frames is then subtracted from the result obtained using the first set of frames to create a refined image.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining the frame intensity of each frame comprises adding together the values for the pixels using a digital camera.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining the frame intensity of each frame comprises illuminating a picture and determining the amount of light reflected from the picture by detecting the reflected illumination using at least one detector.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one detector is one of a camera, bucket detector or charge coupled device.

7. A system for image improvement comprising

at least one processor,

at least one memory operatively associated with the at least one processor for storing frames of data taken of a region of interest, each frame of data comprising an array of pixels, each pixel having a pixel value, each frame having a frame intensity correlating to the sum of the pixel values for each frame;

the at least one processor multiplying the arrays of pixel values for each frame in the series of frames by the frame intensity of each frame to form first product arrays;

the at least one processor operating to sum together the first product arrays for each frame and determine an averaged first product array by dividing the sum of the first product arrays by the number of frames;

the at least one processor operating to determine an average frame intensity for the series of frames and an average pixel value of each pixel location for the series of frames and to determine a second product array from the product of the average frame intensity and the average pixel values for each pixel location;

the at least one processor operating to determine the pixel values for an improved image of the region of interest by subtracting the values of second product array from values of the averaged first product array.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising at least one input for inputting a series of frames taken of a region of interest and wherein the frames of data are pictures taken of the region of interest during turbulent conditions.

9. The system of claim 7 further comprising a detector operatively associated with the at least one processor operating to determine the light intensity for each frame.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the frame intensity is determined by summing the values for the pixels using a digital camera.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the frames of data taken of a region of interest comprise sparse image data and wherein an image is reconstructed using sparse data from a plurality of image frames.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the frames of data taken of a region of interest comprise scanned images and wherein the frame intensity of each image is determined by illuminating the scanned image and determining the amount of light reflected from the image using at least one photodetector.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one photodetector is one of a camera, bucket detector or charge coupled device.

14. A system for image improvement comprising

at least one processor,

at least one memory operatively associated with the at least one processor,

the at least one processor operating to perform the following steps not necessarily in sequential order:

providing a series of frames of a given region of interest;

each frame comprising an array of pixel values;

determining the frame intensity of each frame which is substantially equivalent to the summation of pixel values;

determining the products of each array of pixel values for each frame and the frame intensity to form frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays;

determining the sum of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays for the series of frames;

determining the average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays by dividing the sum of frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays by the number of frames in the series of frames;

determining the average value of each pixel at each pixel location for the series of frames to form an array of average pixel values;

determining the average overall frame intensity for the series of frames;

determining the product of the array of average pixel values and the average overall frame intensity;

subtracting the product of the array of average pixel values and the average overall frame intensity from the average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays to provide refined image data;

forming an image using the refined image data.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the frame intensity is determined by summing the values for the pixels using a digital camera.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the frames of data comprise scanned images and wherein the frame intensity of each image is determined by illuminating the scanned image and determining the amount of light reflected from the image using at least one photodetector.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the at least one photodetector is one of a camera, bucket detector or charge coupled device.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the series of frames of a given region of interest comprises frames of data wherein the image of the region of interest has been distorted by the effects of turbulence or weather such that each frame contains one or more distorted features, the system operating to reduce or eliminate the distortion in the images to create an image having greater clarity.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the distortion is reduced by using the overall intensity of the pixel values to utilize the effects of the quantum properties of light.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein the at least one processor operates to determine the average overall frame intensity for the series of frames;

group the frames that have an overall intensity greater than the average overall frame intensity in a first set of frames;

group the frames that have an overall intensity less than the average overall frame intensity into a second set of frames; and

for each of the first and second sets of frames;

determine the value of each pixel at each location within each frame to form a first array of pixel values for each frame;

determine the overall intensity of each frame;

determine the products of the each array of pixel values for each frame and the frame intensity to form frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays;

determine the sum of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays for the series of frames;

determine the average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays sum of products by dividing the sum of products frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays by the number of frames in the series of frames;

determine the average value of each pixel at each pixel location for the series of frames to form an array of average pixel values;

determine the average overall frame intensity for the series of frames;

determine the product of the array of average pixel values and the average overall frame intensity;

subtracting the product of the array of average pixel values and the average overall frame intensity from the average of the frame intensity multiplied pixel value arrays to provide refined image data for each of the first and second sets of image frames;

forming an image by subtracting refined image data obtained using the second set of image frames from the refined image data obtained using the first set of image frames.