Method for modification of non-image data in an image processing chain

• US 6,707,950 B1
• Filed: 06/22/1999
• Issued: 03/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC), Nextreme LLC
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Burns, Peter D., Gallagher, Andrew C., Lopez-Estrada, Alex
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): VIDA, MELANIE M
• Application Number:
  US09/337,792
• Time in Patent Office: 1,729 Days
• Field of Search: 382/254, 382/272, 382/162, 382/293, 382/275, 382/232, 382/233, 382/242, 382/248, 382/243, 382/276, 358/3.24, 358/448, 358/452-453, 358/1--, 358/447, 358/461, 358/463, 348/231.3, 348/231.5, 348/231.6
• US Class Current: 382/254
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/00 General purpose image data processing

Abstract

A method for modification of metadata in an image processing chain is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: providing metadata corresponding to characteristics of a specific digital image; generating a metadata transformation related to at least one specific image transformation; and modifying the metadata according to the specific image transformation. The method is implemented in an image reproduction system. The system has an imaging capture device for providing digital image data. The imaging capture device can be for example a film scanner, flat bed scanner, or digital camera. A memory device stores metadata associated with the captured digital image data. The image transformations are carried out by an image processing chain. In addition to that a metadata processing chain is implemented and connected to the image processing chain in cases where the image transformations are metadata sensitive.

Claims

1. A method for modification of metadata in an image processing chain that includes the step of performing an image transformation that modifies a characteristic of a digital image to produce a transformed digital image, comprising the steps of:

a) providing metadata corresponding to the characteristic of the digital image;

b) generating a metadata transformation related to the image transformation that modifies the metadata so that it accurately describes the modified characteristic of the transformed digital image;

c) applying the metadata transformation to the metadata to produce transformed metadata;

d) associating the transformed metadata with the transformed digital image;

e) providing a metadata sensitive image transformation; and

f) using the metadata sensitive image transformation and the transformed metadata to modify the transformed digital image to produce a further transformed digital image.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises one or more of the following:

system Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), system spectral responsitivities, capture device aperture, system effective aperture, depth of field, or localized metadata maps.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metadata transformation comprises one or more of the following:

univariate transformations, multidimensional transformations, matrices, one-dimensional look-up-tables, multidimensional look-up-tables, linear spatial filtering operations, adaptive filtering operations or masking operations.

4. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

g) generating a second metadata transformation related to the metadata sensitive image transformation that modifies the transformed metadata so that it accurately describes a modified characteristic of the further transformed digital image;

h) applying the second metadata transformation to the transformed metadata to produce further transformed metadata; and

i) associating the further transformed metadata with the further transformed digital image.

5. A method for modification of noise metadata in an image processing chain that includes the step of performing an image transformation that modifies the noise characteristics of a digital image to produce a transformed digital image, comprising the steps of:

a) providing noise metadata corresponding to the noise characteristics of the digital image;

b) generating a noise metadata transformation related to the image transformation that modifies the noise metadata so that it accurately represents the modified noise characteristics of the transformed digital image;

c) applying the noise metadata transformation to the noise metadata to produce transformed noise metadata; and

d) associating the transformed noise metadata with the transformed digital image.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the noise data comprises one or more of the following:

signal dependent covariance statistics, signal independent covariance statistics, noise power spectrum, or localized noise data maps.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the specific image transformation comprises one or more of the following:

univariate transformations, multidimensional transformations, matrices, one-dimensional look-up-tables, multidimensional look-up-tables, linear spatial filtering operations, adaptive filtering operations or masking operations.

8. A method for modification of metadata that describes a characteristic of a digital image in an image processing chain, comprising the steps of:

a) providing metadata corresponding to the characteristic of the digital image;

b) generating a target image having the characteristic described by the provided metadata;

c) providing an image transform that modifies the characteristic of the digital image to produce a transformed digital image having a modified characteristic;

d) processing the target image through the image transform to produce a processed target image having a modified characteristic; and

e) calculating modified metadata from the processed target image so that it accurately represents the modified characteristics of the transformed digital image.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the metadata comprises of one or more of the following:

system Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), system spectral responsitivities, capture device aperture, system effective aperture, depth of field, or localized metadata maps.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the metadata transformation comprises one or more of the following:

univariate transformations, multidimensional transformations, matrices, one-dimensional look-up-tables, multidimensional look-up-tables, linear spatial filtering operations, adaptive filtering operations or masking operations.

11. A method for modification of noise metadata that describes the noise characteristics of a digital image in an image processing chain, comprising the steps of:

a) providing noise metadata corresponding to the noise characteristics of the digital image;

b) generating a target image having the noise characteristic described by the provided noise metadata;

c) providing an image transform that modifies the noise characteristics of the digital image to produce a transformed digital image having modified noise characteristics;

d) processing the target image through the image transform to produce a processed target image having modified noise characteristics; and

e) calculating modified noise metadata from the processed target image so that it accurately represents the modified noise characteristics of the transformed digital image.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the noise metadata comprises one or more of the following:

signal dependent covariance statistics, signal independent covariance statistics, noise power spectrum, or localized noise data maps.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the specific image transformation comprises one or more of the following:

univariate transformations, multidimensional transformations, matrices, one-dimensional look-up-tables, multidimensional look-up-tables, linear spatial filtering operations, adaptive filtering operations or masking operations.

14. An image reproduction system comprising:

a) an imaging capture device for providing digital image data;

b) a memory device for storing noise metadata and other metadata that describe noise characteristics and other attributes of the digital image data;

c) an image processing chain for carrying out image transformations on the digital image data that modify the noise characteristics and other attributes of the digital image data; and

d) a metadata processing chain being connected to the image processing chain for carrying out metadata transformations that modify the noise metadata and other metadata so that it accurately describes the modified noise characteristics and other attributes of the transformed digital image.

15. The system as described in claim 14, wherein the noise metadata and other metadata comprises one or more of the following:

signal dependent covariance statistics, signal independent covariance statistics, noise power spectrum, localized metadata maps, system Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), system spectral responsitivities, capture device aperture, system effective aperture or depth of field.

16. The system as described in claim 14, wherein the image processing chain comprises one or more of the following image processing operations:

univariate transformations, multidimensional transformations, matrices, one-dimensional look-up-tables, multidimensional look-up-tables, linear spatial filtering operations, adaptive filtering operations or masking operations.

17. The system as described in claim 14, wherein the metadata processing chain has at least one metadata transformation related to the image transformation.

18. The system as described in claim 14, wherein the metadata processing chain has at least one noise data transformation related to the image transformation.

19. An image reproduction system comprising:

a) an imaging capture device for providing digital image data;

b) a memory device for storing noise metadata and other metadata that describe noise characteristics and other attributes of the digital image data;

c) a first processing chain responsive to modified noise metadata and modified other metadata for carrying out image transformations on the digital image data that modify the noise characteristics and other attributes of the digital image data;

d) a second processing chain for carrying out the image transformations on a target image having noise characteristics and other attributes similar to the digital image to produce a modified target image; and

e) a target image evaluator for determining modified noise metadata and modified other metadata from the modified target image and providing the modified noise metadata and modified other meta data to the first processing chain.

20. The system as described in claim 19, wherein the noise and other metadata comprises one or more of the following:

signal dependent covariance statistics, signal independent covariance statistics, noise power spectrum, localized metadata maps, system Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), system spectral responsitivities, capture device aperture, system effective aperture or depth of field.

21. The system as described in claim 19, wherein the first and second image processing comprises one or more of the following image processing operations:

univariate transformations, multidimensional transformations, matrices, one-dimensional look-up-tables, multidimensional look-up-tables, linear spatial filtering operations, adaptive filtering operations or masking operations.