Method and apparatus for automatically capturing a plurality of images during a pan

• US 6,930,703 B1
• Filed: 04/29/2000
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Hubel, Paul M., Gennetten, K Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Henn, Timothy J.
• Application Number:
  US09/562,597
• Time in Patent Office: 1,935 Days
• Field of Search: 348/39, 348/207, 348/37, 348/36, 348/94, 348/144, 348/208.1, 348/208.2, 348/208.3, 348/208.4, 348/208.13, 348/208.16, 348/220.16, 348/220.1, 348/239, 348/352, 348/367, 348/442, 348/451, 348/513, 348/137, 348/169, 348/216, 348/183, 348/184
• US Class Current: 348/37
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

A camera for automatically triggering a plurality of exposures during a pan based on a measure of camera displacement. During a pan, the camera regularly acquires images to compare a recently acquired image to a reference image. If the recently acquired image is optimally overlapped with the reference image, an exposure is triggered. In a digital camera, the images may be acquired with the native imager. In a film-based camera, or as an alternative embodiment for the digital camera, a sensor may be used to measure displacement. A series of images comprising a pan may be stored in the camera, or alternatively, each subsequent image may be stitched to a previous image to create a single panoramic image.

Claims

1. A method for automatically triggering frames with a camera during a pan across a scene, the camera comprising a shutter having a shutter speed associated therewith, the method comprising:

moving the camera across the scene; and

capturing a plurality of scene portions, each scene portion being captured based on a predetermined movement threshold;

wherein the scene portions are captured without stopping the movement of the camera if the shutter speed exceeds a predetermined shutter speed threshold; and

wherein the scene portions are captured after stopping the movement of the camera if the shutter speed does not exceed the predetermined shutter speed threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined movement threshold comprises an overlap range.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined movement threshold comprises a change in direction.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring movement with respect to a given position; and

capturing a scene portion at a next position when the movement has exceeded a predetermined movement threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the measuring step further comprises:

periodically capturing current frames during the pan; and

comparing each current frame to a previously captured frame to determine if the movement has exceeded the predetermined movement threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the comparing step uses a correlation alogirthm to determine if the movement has exceeded the predetermined movement threshold.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the measuring step comprises reading positional information from a motion sensor fixed to the camera.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an audio/visual indication to prompt a camera operator to stop the pan and manually capture the scene portion if the shutter speed is lower then the predetermined shutter speed threshold.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

stitching together the plurality of scene portions to create a panoramic image.

10. The method of claim 1, and further comprising calculating the shutter speed.

11. A camera for capturing a plurality of images during a pan of a scene, comprising:

an imager comprising a shutter having a shutter speed associated therewith; and

a processor coupled to the imager, the processor configured to capture a plurality of scene portions with the imager, the processor and the imager combining to measure movement, and each scene portion being captured based on a predetermined movement threshold;

wherein the processor causes the scene portions to be captured without stopping movement of the camera if the shutter speed exceeds a predetermined shutter speed threshold; and

wherein the processor causes the scene portions to be captured after stopping movement of the camera if the shutter speed does not exceed the predetermined shutter speed threshold.

12. The camera of claim 11, wherein the predetermined movement threshold comprises an overlap range.

13. The camera of claim 11, wherein the predetermined movement threshold comprises a change of direction.

14. The camera of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

measure movement with respect to a given position; and

capture a scene portion at a next position when the movement has exceeded a predetermined movement threshold.

15. The camera of claim 14, wherein the processor further configured to:

periodically capture current frames during the pan; and

compare each current frame to a previously captured frame to determine if the movement has exceeded the predetermined movement threshold.

16. The camera of claim 15, wherein the processor uses a correlation algorithm to determine if the movement has exceeded the predetermined movement threshold.

17. The camera of claim 14, wherein the processor reads positional information from a motion sensor fixed to the camera to measure movement.

18. The camera of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

provide an audio/visual indication to prompt a camera operator to stop the pan and manually capture the scene portion if the shutter speed is lower than a predetermined shutter speed threshold.

19. The camera of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

stitch together the plurality of scene portions to create a panoramic image.

20. A camera for capturing a plurality of images during a pan of a scene, comprising:

a shutter having a shutter speed associated therewith;

a motion sensor; and

a processor, the processor coupled to the motion sensor, the processor configured to capture a plurality of scene portions, each scene portion being captured based on a predetermined movement threshold as measured by the motion sensor, the process being further configured to cause scene portions to be captured without stopping the movement of the camera if the shutter speed exceeds a predetermined shutter speed threshold, and to cause portions to be captured after stopping movement of the camera if the shutter speed does not exceed the predetermined shutter speed threshold.

21. The camera of claim 20, wherein the predetermined movement threshold comprises an overlap range.

22. The camera of claim 20, wherein the predetermined movement threshold comprises a change in direction.

23. The camera of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to:

measure movement with respect to a given position; and

capture a scene portion at a next position when the movement has exceeded a predetermined movement threshold.

24. The camera of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured to:

periodically capture current frames during the pan; and

compare each current frame to a previously captured frame to determine if the movement has exceeded the predetermined movement threshold.

25. The camera of claim 24, wherein the processor uses a correlation algorithm to determine if the movement has exceeded the predetermined movement threshold.

26. The camera of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to:

provide an audio/visual indication to prompt a camera operator to stop the pan and manually capture the scene portion if the shutter speed is lower than the predetermined shutter speed threshold.

27. The camera of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to:

stitch together the plurality of scene portions to create a panoramic image.

28. The camera of claim 20, wherein the motion sensor comprises a gyroscope.

29. The camera of claim 20, wherein the motion sensor comprises a compass.

30. The camera of claim 20, wherein the motion sensor includes an image sensor.

31. The camera of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the shutter speed.