Motion/saturation detection system and method for synthesizing high dynamic range motion blur free images from multiple captures
First Claim
1. A method for preventing motion/saturation from corrupting image capturing during a global exposure time of a sensor, comprising:
- performing for each pixel of said sensor;
a) determining a difference between an illumination measurement obtained during current image capturing and an illumination estimation generated during previous image capturing;
b) comparing said difference with a threshold value;
c) determining, based on step b), whether motion/saturation has occurred;
d1) accepting said illumination measurement and updating said illumination estimation if motion/saturation has not occurred;
d2) updating said illumination estimation with said illumination measurement if motion/saturation has occurred and if terminating said performing act is deferred; and
d3) terminating said performing act and outputting said illumination estimation as final illumination estimation if motion/saturation has occurred.
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Abstract
Motion/Saturation detection system and method for synthesizing high dynamic range motion blur free images from multiple captures, the system and method utilizing photocurrent estimation to reduce read noise and enhance dynamic range at the low illumination end, saturation detection to enhance dynamic range at the high illumination end, and motion blur detection to ensure the photocurrent estimation is not corrupted by motion. Motion blur detection also makes it possible to extend exposure time and to capture more images, which can be used to further enhance dynamic range at the low illumination end. The present invention operates completely locally, making it well suited for single chip digital camera implementations.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method for preventing motion/saturation from corrupting image capturing during a global exposure time of a sensor, comprising:
performing for each pixel of said sensor; a) determining a difference between an illumination measurement obtained during current image capturing and an illumination estimation generated during previous image capturing; b) comparing said difference with a threshold value; c) determining, based on step b), whether motion/saturation has occurred; d1) accepting said illumination measurement and updating said illumination estimation if motion/saturation has not occurred; d2) updating said illumination estimation with said illumination measurement if motion/saturation has occurred and if terminating said performing act is deferred; and d3) terminating said performing act and outputting said illumination estimation as final illumination estimation if motion/saturation has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for synthesizing from multiple captures high dynamic range motion blur free images, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) capturing a first image sample; b) generating for each pixel a current illumination estimation based on said first captured image sample; c) capturing a next image sample; d) determining for each pixel whether motion/saturation has occurred and whether to include said next image sample;
wherein said step d) further comprises;d1) if motion/saturation has occurred, using said current illumination as final illumination estimation; and d2) if no motion/saturation has occurred or a decision is deferred, including said next image sample and updating said current illumination; e) repeat steps c) and d) until no more image samples are to be captured.
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20. A system having a sensor capable of capturing a multiplicity of image samples during a global exposure time, comprising:
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motion/saturation detecting means for determining for each pixel whether motion/saturation has occurred between a previous capturing and a current capturing; processing means for determining for each pixel whether to accept an image sample captured during said current capturing;
estimating means for generating an optimal illumination estimation for said sensor based on selectively accepted multiplicity of image samples captured during said global exposure time thereby Preventing motion/saturation from corrupting image capturing;means for determining for each pixel a difference between an illumination measurement obtained during said current capturing and an illumination estimation generated during said previous capturing; means for comparing for each pixel said difference with a threshold value; means for updating for each pixel said illumination estimation with an accepted or deferred illumination measurement; and means for outputing for each pixel a final illumination estimation. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification