Concealed object recognition

• US 7,079,701 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2002
• Issued: 07/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intergraph Software Technologies Company
• Original Assignee: Integran Technologies Incorporated (Analog Devices, Inc.)
• Inventors: McKay, Therman Ward III, Grindstaff, Gene Arthur, Fletcher, Susan Heath Calvin
• Primary Examiner(s): Alavi, Amir
• Application Number:
  US10/237,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20030048282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: 382/162, 382/168, 382/170, 382/260, 382/262, 382/263, 382/264, 382/272, 382/276, 382/277, 382/305, 382/275, 358/515, 358/519, 358/521, 358/522, 358/523, 358/530, 358/3.26, 345/589, 345/590, 345/591, 345/619, 345/620, 345/629, 396/567, 396/569, 396/604, 396/612, 378/9
• US Class Current: 382/260
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/33 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/20 Image preprocessing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/683 performed by a processor, e.g. controlling the readout of an image memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/646 for image enhancement, e.g. vertical detail restoration, cross-colour elimination, contour correction, chrominance trapping filters

Abstract

A method for viewing a first object that is obstructed by a second object. In such a method, the first object has a contrasting color to the second object and the second object is constructed from a material that allows visible light to pass therethrough. The amount of visible light that passes through the second object is not enough such that the first object is visible to the human eye. The method involves taking a digital image of the first and second object using a visible light sensor, such as a CCD camera sensor. The digital image data that is received into a computer system contains both first object data and second object data. It should be understood that the fist object data and the second object data include color information. The amount of contrast between the first and the second object should be approximately 10% of the total scale such that on a 256 color scale the difference is approximately 25 levels. The computer system substantially filters out the second object data and then the values associated with the first object data are increased until the data is visibly displayable.

Claims

1. A method for viewing a first object having a contrasting color to a second object, wherein the second object obstructs visibility of the first object, wherein visible light passes through the second object, the method comprising:

receiving digital image data representative of the first object obstructed by the second object into a computer system;

wherein the digital image data contains at least first object data and second object data produced by visible light and each datum has an associated value;

substantially filtering out the second object data; and

increasing the value of the first object data until visibly displayable.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising creating a histogram of the digital image data;

and

selecting the second object data based upon the histogram.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the process is automated.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein substantially filtering out the second object data and increasing the first object data is achieved at least by increasing gamma correction.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the gamma correction is set above 2.5.

6. The method according to claim 4 wherein the gamma correction is set at or above 6.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein increasing the first object data includes mapping the first object data to values such that the contrast between data levels is such that a human eye can detect the contrast when the first object data is displayed on a display device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein mapping is performed such that the mapping is to data values which when displayed by a display device are observable to the human eye.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein increasing the first object data is achieved at least by increasing brightness.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first object and the second object have contrasting colors.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first object and the second object have contrasting colors which average more than 25 levels apart on a 256 level scale.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the image data is represented on a scale of values and wherein the first object and the second object have contrasting colors such that the colors of the first object data and the second object data vary approximately by ten percent of the scale.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the process is automated.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first object data and the second object data contain color information.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

converting the color information from the first object data and the second object data to greyscale.

16. A method for displaying first object data representative of a first object in a digital image on a display device wherein the first object is obstructed by a second object, visible light passing through the second object, the first object and the second object having contrasting colors, the method comprising:

receiving digital data representative of the digital image into a computer system; and

filtering the first and second object data such that the first object data is visibly displayed on the display device and the second object data is clipped.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

taking a digital image of the first object and the second object using a visible light sensor that produces the first object data and the second object data.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein filtering comprises:

mapping the first object data to a scale such that contrasts between data values when displayed are visible to a human eye.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

displaying the first object data on a display device.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

providing manual adjustment of the filtering after displaying the first object data on the display device.

21. The method according to claim 16 wherein filtering includes:

creating a visually displayable histogram of the digital data representative of the digital image;

providing user selection of a group of the digital data representative of the digital image;

removing the selected group from the digital data representative of the digital image; and

adjusting data values of the remaining digital data by applying gamma correction to the digital data by increasing a gamma correction value until the first object is displayable when the digital data is displayed on a display device.

22. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first object data and the second object data contain color information.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising:

converting the color information of the first object data and the second object data to greyscale.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein if the second object is darker than the first object, adjusting at least the second object data until substantially all of the second object data produces zero output when represented on a display.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein if the second object is substantially lighter than the first object, inverting the first and second object data such that the second object appears darker when represented on a display device.

26. The method according to claim 25, adjusting at least the second object data until substantially all of the second object data produces zero output when represented on a display.

27. The method according to claim 25 further comprising:

mapping the first object data to data values such that the data values when presented on a display are visible and scaling between data values is increased over scaling between the first object data.

28. The method according to claim 26 further comprising:

mapping the first object data to data values such that the data values when presented on a display are visible and scaling between data values is increased over scaling between the first object data.

29. A computer program product having computer readable program code on a storage medium for use with a computer for viewing first object data representative of a first object having a contrasting color to a second object, wherein the second object obstructs visibility of the first object, wherein the visible light passes through the second object, the computer readable program code comprising:

computer code for receiving digital image data representative of the first object obstructed by the second object into a computer system;

wherein the digital image data contains at least first object data and second object data produced by visible light;

computer code for substantially filtering out the second object data; and

computer code for increasing the first object data until visibly displayable.

30. The computer program product according to claim 29, further comprising:

computer code for creating a histogram of the digital image data; and

computer code for selecting the second object data based upon the histogram.

31. The computer program product according to claim 29, wherein the computer code for substantially filtering out the second object data and increasing the first object data increases gamma correction.

32. The computer program product according to claim 31 wherein the gamma correction is set above 2.5.

33. The computer program product according to claim 31 wherein the gamma correction is set at or above 6.

34. The computer program product according to claim 29 wherein the computer code for increasing the first object data includes computer code for mapping the first object data to values such that the contrast between data levels is such that a human eye can detect the contrast.

35. The computer program product according to claim 34, wherein the computer code for mapping is performed such that the mapping is to data values which when displayed by a display device are observable to the human eye.

36. The computer program product according to claim 29, wherein the computer code for increasing the first object data increases the first object data at least by increasing brightness.

37. The computer program product to claim 29, wherein the first object and the second object have contrasting colors.

38. The computer program product according to claim 29, wherein the first object and the second object data represent contrasting colors which average more than 25 levels on a 256 level scale.

39. The computer program according to claim 29, wherein the image data is associated with a scale and the first object and the second object have contrasting colors such that the first object data and the second object data vary substantially by ten percent of the scale.

40. The computer program product according to claim 29, wherein the first object data and the second object data contain color information and the computer program product further includes computer code for converting the color information from the first object data and the second object data to greyscale.

41. A computer program product having computer code on a computer readable medium for use with a computer for displaying first object data representative of a first object in a digital image on a display device wherein the first object is obstructed by a second object, visible light passing through the second object, the first object and the second object having contrasting colors, the computer code comprising:

computer code for receiving digital data representative of the digital image into a computer system; and

computer code for filtering the first and second object data such that the first object data is visibly displayed on the display device and the second object data is clipped.

42. The computer program product according to claim 41, wherein the computer code for filtering includes:

computer code for mapping the first object data to a scale such that contrasts between data values when displayed are visible to a human eye.

43. The computer program product according to claim 41, further comprising:

computer code for displaying the first object data on a display device.

44. The computer program product according to claim 41, further comprising:

computer code for providing user adjustment of the filtering after displaying the first object data on the display device.

45. The computer program product according to claim 41 wherein the computer code for filtering includes:

computer code for creating a visually displayable histogram of the digital data representative of the digital image;

computer code for providing user selection of a group of the digital data representative of the digital image;

computer code for removing the selected group from the digital data representative of the digital image; and

computer code for adjusting data values of the remaining digital data by applying gamma correction to the digital data by increasing a gamma correction value until the first object is displayable when the digital data is displayed on a display device.

46. The computer program product according to claim 41, wherein the first object data and the second object data contain color information and wherein the computer program product further comprises:

computer code for converting the color information of the first object data and the second object data to greyscale.

47. The computer program product according to claim 46, further comprising computer code for adjusting at least the second object data until substantially all of the second object data produces zero output when represented on a display if the second object is darker than the first object.

48. The computer program product according to claim 46, further comprising computer code for inverting the first and second object data such that the second object appears darker when represented on a display device if the second object is substantially lighter than the first object.

49. The computer program product according to claim 48, further comprising computer code for adjusting at least the second object data until substantially all of the second object data produces zero output when represented on a display.

50. The computer program product according to claim 49 further comprising:

computer code for mapping the first object data to data values such that the data values when presented on a display are visible and scaling between data values is increased over scaling between the first object data.

51. The computer program product according to claim 48 further comprising:

computer code for mapping the first object data to data values such that the data values when presented on a display are visible and scaling between data values is increased over scaling between the first object data.