Control of artificial lighting of a scene to reduce effects of motion in the scene on an image being acquired

• US 8,190,016 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2010
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: CSR Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pozniansky, Eli, Pertsel, Shimon
• Primary Examiner(s): Laballe, Clayton E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hancock, Dennis
• Application Number:
  US12/709,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20100150540A1
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: 396/153, 396/159, 396/263, 396/266
• US Class Current: 396/159
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means

Abstract

Motion of an image of a scene being captured by a digital image acquisition device is detected and used to control parameters of illumination of the scene by a flash lamp that is typically built into the device. Parameters that may be controlled include the intensity, duration and timing of light emitted by the flash lamp. Such control of the flash illumination is preferably performed in conjunction with adjusting one or more exposure parameters used to capture an image. Such exposure parameters include duration, aperture and sensor gain. Motion blur caused by movement of the camera or by movement of an object within the scene being photographed is reduced by selecting appropriate exposure parameters and flash light characteristics.

Claims

1. A method of controlling operation of an electronic imaging device to capture data of at least one image of a scene illuminated with at least one source of artificial light, wherein a magnitude of motion of the at least one image, and an acceleration of at least a portion of the at least one image, including a local acceleration of the at least one image, is ascertained prior to capturing data of the at least one image, and the ascertained magnitude of motion is used to set a magnitude of at least one of a duration, intensity or timing of a light pulse emitted by the at least one source of artificial light while capturing data of the at least one image, wherein the ascertained magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the at least one image is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the at least one image.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ascertained magnitude of motion is used to set a magnitude of all of the duration, intensity and timing of the light pulse emitted by the at least one source of artificial light.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ascertained magnitude of motion is also used to set a magnitude of at least one of a duration, aperture or gain of the electronic imaging device to capture data of the at least one image.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the magnitude of at least one of the duration, intensity or timing of the light pulse and the magnitude of at least one of the duration, aperture or gain of the electronic imaging device are set in coordination with each other.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the magnitude of the duration of the light pulse is set to be at least as large as the magnitude of the duration of the imaging device and occurring simultaneously therewith.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ascertained magnitude of motion is also used to set a magnitude of all of a duration, aperture and gain of the electronic imaging device to capture data of the at least one image.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ascertained magnitude of motion is used to set a magnitude of at least one of the duration, intensity or timing of the light pulse in a manner to reduce blur of the captured at least one image due to the motion.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of motion of the at least one image is ascertained for global motion of the at least one image.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of motion of the at least one image is ascertained for local motion of the at least one image.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of motion of the at least one image is ascertained for both global and local motion of the at least one image.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of motion of the at least one image is ascertained from data of two or more preview images of the scene.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the data of two or more preview images of the scene are acquired during illumination of the scene by preview light emitted by the at least one source of artificial light.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of motion of the at least one image is ascertained prior to capturing data of the at least one image by capturing data of at least one preview image of the scene while illuminated with light emitted by the at least one source of artificial light.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the at least one source of artificial light used to illuminate the scene includes at least one gas discharge flash lamp.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the at least one source of artificial light used to illuminate the scene includes at least one light emitting diode.

16. A method of controlling operation of an electronic imaging device to capture data of at least one image of a scene with artificial lighting, comprising:

determining, prior to capturing data of an image, a magnitude of motion and acceleration of the image, including a local acceleration of the image;

calculating one or more exposure parameters including duration from at least the determined magnitude of image motion;

calculating one or more illumination parameters of the artificial lighting of the scene from at least the determined magnitude of motion; and

thereafter capturing data of the image by use of the calculated one or more exposure parameters and with artificial lighting of the scene having the calculated one or more illumination parameters, wherein the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the image is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the image.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the artificial lighting is provided by at least one source of at least one light pulse and calculating one or more illumination parameters of artificial lighting includes calculating at least a duration of the at least one light pulse emitted by the at least one flash lamp while capturing data of the image.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein calculating one or more illumination parameters of the artificial lighting additionally includes calculating an intensity of the at least one light pulse.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein calculating one or more illumination parameters of the artificial lighting additionally includes calculating a timing of the at least one light pulse.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the duration of the light pulse is calculated to be at least as long as the calculated exposure duration parameter and to occur simultaneously with the entire exposure duration.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein

the artificial lighting is provided by at least one source that emits at least one pulse of light,

determining the magnitude of motion of the image includes forecasting the magnitude of motion as a function of time, and

calculating one or more illumination parameters of the artificial lighting includes calculating a time to initiate the capturing of data of the image and the at least one light pulse that is coincident with a minimum magnitude of the forecasted motion.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein calculating one or more illumination parameters of the artificial lighting additionally includes calculating a duration of the at least one light pulse.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein calculating one or more illumination parameters of the artificial lighting additionally includes calculating an intensity of the at least one light pulse.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein determining a magnitude of motion of the image includes determining a global motion of the image.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein determining a magnitude of global motion of the image includes use of a mechanical motion sensor within the electronic imaging device.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein determining a magnitude of global motion of the image includes use of data of two or more preview images of the scene.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein determining a magnitude of motion of the image includes determining a local motion of the image.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein determining a magnitude of motion includes use of data of two or more preview images of the scene.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein determining a magnitude of motion of the image includes determining a combined global and local motion of the image.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein determining a magnitude of motion includes use of data of two or more preview images of the scene.

31. The method of claim 16, wherein determining a magnitude of motion includes use of data of two or more preview images of the scene.

32. The method of claim 16, wherein determining a magnitude of motion includes determining a magnitude of motion of both the camera and of an object within the scene.

33. A method of controlling operation of an electronic imaging device and at least one source of artificial light to capture data of at least one image of a scene, comprising:

determining, prior to capturing data of an image, a magnitude of motion of the image, an acceleration of at least a portion of the image, and a luminance of the scene, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the image independent of a global acceleration of the image;

calculating, from at least the magnitude of motion and the luminance of the scene, exposure parameters including at least a duration of exposure that minimizes a blue in the image due to the motion;

calculating, from at least the magnitude of motion, one or more parameters of at least one light pulse to be emitted from the source of artificial light;

in response to the calculated one or more parameters of the at least one light pulse, modifying at least one of the calculated exposure parameters to obtain modified exposure parameters for capturing data of the at least one image; and

thereafter capturing data of the image by use of the modified exposure parameters and with artificial lighting of the scene having the calculated one or more light pulse parameters, wherein the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the image is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the image.

34. A method of controlling operation of an electronic imaging device and at least one source of artificial light to capture data of at least one image of a scene, comprising:

determining, prior to capturing data of an image, a magnitude of motion of the image, an acceleration of at least a portion of the scene, and a luminance of the scene, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the scene independent of a global acceleration of the scene;

calculating, from at least the determined magnitude of image motion one or more exposure parameters including a duration and an intensity of the artificial light to illuminate the scene over the entire exposure duration; and

thereafter capturing data of the image by use of the calculated one or more exposure parameters and with the artificial light illuminating the scene with the calculated intensity over the entire exposure duration wherein the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the image is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the image.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the at least one source of artificial light includes at least one light emitting diode.

36. An electronic imaging device, comprising:

a photodetector;

an optical system that projects an image of a scene being captured onto the photodetector;

at least one source of artificial light adapted to illuminate the scene;

an electronic processor that receives data of the image projected onto the photodetector and processes the scene data to provide data of an image of the scene being captured; and

wherein the processor additionally quantifies, from data of the scene projected onto the photodetector, an amount of motion of the scene, and an acceleration of at least a portion of the scene, including a local acceleration of the scene, and uses this quantified motion to set a magnitude of at least one of a duration, intensity or timing of a light pulse emitted by the at least one source of artificial light while capturing data of the at least one image, and wherein the quantified motion and local acceleration of the scene is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the at least one image.

37. The device of claim 36, wherein the at least one source of artificial light includes a gas discharge flash lamp.

38. The device of claim 36, wherein the at least one source of artificial light includes a light emitting diode.

39. The device of claim 36, wherein the processor additionally uses the quantified motion to set one or more exposure parameters including an exposure duration used to capture the data of the at least one image.

40. The device of claim 39, wherein the processor additionally sets the magnitude of the light pulse emitted by the at least one source of artificial light and the one or more exposure parameters in coordination with each other.

41. The device of claim 39, wherein the one or more exposure parameters set by the processor additionally includes aperture and gain.

42. The device of claim 36, wherein the processor additionally quantifies an amount of motion of the scene from data of local motion of the scene.

43. The device of claim 36, wherein the processor additionally quantifies an amount of motion of the scene from data of global motion of the scene.

44. The device of claim 36, wherein the processor quantifies the amount of motion of the scene from data of at least two preview images of the scene individually acquired while simultaneously causing the at least one source of artificial light to emit light.

45. The device of claim 44, wherein the at least one source of artificial light includes a gas discharge flash lamp.

46. The device of claim 44, wherein the at least one source of artificial light includes a light emitting diode.

47. A processor readable non-transitive storage medium that includes data that is executable by a processor to enable a plurality of actions by an imaging device to capture data of at least one image of a scene illuminated with at least one source of artificial light, comprising:

determining a magnitude of motion of the at least one image, and an acceleration of at least a portion of the scene, prior to capturing data of the at least one image, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the scene;

employing determined magnitude of motion to set a magnitude of at least one of a duration, an intensity, and a timing of a light pulse emitted by the at least one source of artificial light during the capturing of data of the at least image; and

employing the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the at least one image to determined initiating the capture of data of the at least one image.

48. A processor readable non-transitive storage medium that includes data that is executable by a processor to enable a plurality of actions by an imaging device to capture data of at least one image of a scene illuminated with at least one source of artificial light, comprising:

determining, prior to capturing data of an image, a magnitude of motion of the image, and acceleration of at least a portion of the image, and a luminance of the scene, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the image independent of a global acceleration of the image;

determining, from at least the magnitude and acceleration of motion and the luminance of the scene, at least one exposure parameter that includes at least a duration of exposure that minimizes a blur in the image due to the motion;

determining, from at least the magnitude of motion, at least one parameter of at least one light pulse to be emitted from the source of artificial light;

in response to the determined at least one parameter of the at least one light pulse, modifying at least one of the determined exposure parameters to obtain and at least one modified exposure parameter for capturing data of the at least one image; and

capturing data of the image by use of the at least one modified exposure parameter and with artificial lightning of the scene having the determined at least one light pulse parameter, wherein the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the image is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the image.

49. An imaging device, comprising:

a photodetector;

an optical system that projects and image of a scene onto the photodetector;

at least one source of artificial light adapted to illuminate the scene;

a processor that enables the imaging device to perform actions, including;

determining, prior to capturing data of the image, a magnitude of motion of the image, an acceleration of at least a portion of the image, and a luminance of the scene, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the image;

determining, from at least the magnitude of motion and the luminance of the scene, exposure parameters including at least a duration of exposure that minimizes a blur in the image due to the motion;

determining, from at least the magnitude of motion, at least one parameter of at least one light pulse to be emitted by the at least source of artificial light;

in response to the determined at least one parameter of the at least one light pulse, modifying at least one of the determined exposure parameters to obtain modified exposure parameters for capturing data of the at least one image; and

thereafter capturing data of the image by use of the modified exposure parameters and with artificial lighting of the scene having the determined the at least one light pulse parameters, wherein the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the image is employed to determined initiating the capture of data of the image.

50. An electronic chip that is operable to execute instructions for enabling a plurality of actions by an imaging device to capture data of at least one image of a scene illuminated with at least one source of artificial light, comprising:

determining, prior to capturing data of an image, a magnitude of motion of the image, an acceleration of at least a portion of the scene, and a luminance of the scene, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the scene independent of a global acceleration of the scene;

determining, from at least the magnitude of motion and the luminance of the scene, at least one exposure parameter that includes at least a duration of exposure that minimizes a blur in the image due to the motion;

determining, from at least the magnitude of motion, at least one parameter of at least one light pulse to be emitted from the source of artificial light;

in response to the determined at least at least one parameter of the at least one light pulse, modifying at least one of the determined exposure parameters to obtain at least one modified exposure parameter for capturing data of the at least one image; and

capturing data of the image by use of the at least one modified exposure parameter and with artificial lightning of the scene having the determined at least one light pulse parameter, wherein the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the image is employed to determine initiating the capture of data of the image.

51. An electronic chip that is operable to execute instructions for enabling a plurality of actions by an imaging device to capture data of at least one image of a scene illuminated with at least one source of artificial light, comprising:

determining a magnitude of motion of the at least one image and an acceleration of at least a portion of the at least one image, prior to capturing data of the at least one image, wherein the determined acceleration includes a local acceleration of the at least one image;

employing determined magnitude of motion to set a magnitude of at least one of a duration, an intensity, and a timing of a light pulse emitted by the at least one source of artificial light during the capturing of data of the at least one image; and

employing the determined magnitude of motion and local acceleration of the at least one image to determine initiating the capture of data of the at least one image.