IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE

• US 20170178304A1
• Filed: 12/16/2016
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Automotive Electronics Company Limited (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuura, Yoshio
• Granted Patent: US 10,089,731 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10012 Stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20021 Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30201 Face
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30268 Vehicle interior
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/20 using local operators
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/94 based on local image properties, e.g. for local contrast enhancement
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/145 Illumination specially adapted for pattern recognition, e.g. using gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/166 using acquisition arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/047 using multispectral pick-up elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof

Abstract

An image processing device includes: first and second illumination units that emit light to a subject in different directions; an image capturing unit that captures first and second images in a state where the first and second illumination units emit the light, respectively; and an image correction unit that compares a first luminance value of a first pixel configuring the first image with a second luminance value of a second pixel configuring the second image for each corresponding pixel, and generates a corrected image by performing correction processing to a synthesized image of the first and second images. The image correction unit calculates a difference between the first and second luminance values, and calculates a luminance correcting value based on the difference and a function which monotonically increases as the difference increases and whose increase rate gradually decreases, and generates the corrected image using the luminance correcting value.

Claims

1. An image processing device comprising:

a first illumination unit that emits illumination light to a subject;

a second illumination unit that emits illumination light to the subject in a direction different from the first illumination unit;

an image capturing unit that captures a first image of the subject in a state where the first illumination unit emits the illumination light to the subject, and captures a second image of the subject in a state where the second illumination unit emits the illumination light to the subject; and

an image correction unit that compares a first luminance value of a first pixel configuring the first image with a second luminance value of a second pixel configuring the second image for each corresponding pixel, and generates a corrected image by performing predetermined correction processing to a synthesized image of the first image and the second image based on the comparison results,

wherein the image correction unit calculates a difference between the first luminance value and the second luminance value, and calculates a luminance correcting value based on the difference and a predetermined function which monotonically increases together with an increase of the difference and whose increase rate gradually decreases, and generates the corrected image using the luminance correcting value.

3. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the function is a logarithmic function, and

wherein the image correction unit calculates a difference logarithmic value that is a logarithm of an absolute value of the difference based on the logarithmic function, and calculates the luminance correcting value using the difference logarithmic value.

4. The image processing device according to claim 3,

wherein the luminance correcting value is a first luminance correcting value obtained by adding a low luminance value, which is a smaller luminance value of the first luminance value and the second luminance value, to the difference logarithmic value.

5. The image processing device according to claim 3,

wherein the luminance correcting value is a second luminance correcting value obtained by adding a value, which is obtained by multiplying a value obtained by adding the low luminance value that is a smaller luminance value of the first luminance value and the second luminance value to the difference logarithmic value by a first coefficient α

, to a value obtained by multiplying an average value of the first luminance value and the second luminance value by a second coefficient β

.

6. The image processing device according to claim 5,

wherein the first coefficient α

changes in a range of 0≦

α

≦

1 according to a high luminance value that is a larger luminance value of the first luminance value and the second luminance value, and gradually decreases as the high luminance value decreases,

wherein the second coefficient β

satisfies β

=1−

α

(0≦

β

≦

1), and gradually increases as the high luminance value decreases,

wherein the image correction unit detects the high luminance value and determines whether the high luminance value is larger than or equal to a predetermined value;

sets the first coefficient α

to 1 and sets the second coefficient β

to 0, and calculates the second luminance correcting value, in a case where the high luminance value is larger than or equal to a predetermined value; and

calculates the second luminance correcting value by using the first coefficient α

(0≦

α

≦

1) and the second coefficient β

(0<

β

≦

1) according to the high luminance value, in a case where the high luminance value is smaller than the predetermined value.

7. The image processing device according to claim 3,

wherein the logarithmic function uses 2 as a base.

8. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the image correction unit compares first luminance values of a plurality of first blocks, each of which comprises a plurality of first pixels, with second luminance values of a plurality of second blocks, each of which comprises a plurality of second pixels, for each corresponding block, instead of comparing the first luminance value with the second luminance value for each corresponding pixel.

2. An image processing device comprising:

an illumination unit that emits illumination light to a subject;

a first image capturing unit that captures a first image of the subject in a state where the illumination unit emits the illumination light to the subject;

a second image capturing unit that captures a second image of the subject in a direction different from the first image capturing unit in a state where the illumination unit emits the illumination light to the subject; and

an image correction unit that compares a first luminance value of a first pixel configuring the first image with a second luminance value of a second pixel configuring the second image for each corresponding pixel, and generates a corrected image by performing predetermined correction processing to a synthesized image of the first image and the second image, based on the comparison results,

wherein the image correction unit calculates a difference between the first luminance value and the second luminance value, and calculates a luminance correcting value based on the difference and a predetermined function which monotonically increases together with an increase of the difference and whose increase rate gradually decreases, and generates the corrected image using the luminance correcting value.