Red eye false positive filtering using face location and orientation

• US 8,233,674 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2011
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FotoNation Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DigitalOptics Corporation Europe Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Steinberg, Eran, Drimbarean, Alexandru, Nanu, Florin
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahmjoo, Mike
• Application Number:
  US13/113,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20110222730A1
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• Field of Search: 382/117, 382/118, 382/115, 382/128, 382/130, 382/103, 382/275, 382/260, 382/274, 358/515, 358/518
• US Class Current: 382/117
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30216 Redeye defect
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/12 Edge-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships

Abstract

An image is acquired including a red eye defect and non red eye defect regions having a red color. An initial segmentation of candidate redeye regions is performed. A location and orientation of one or more faces within the image are determined. The candidate redeye regions are analyzed based on the determined location and orientation of the one or more faces to determine a probability that each redeye region appears at a position of an eye. Any confirmed redeye regions having at least a certain threshold probability of being a false positive are removed as candidate redeye defect regions. The remaining redeye defect regions are corrected and a red eye corrected image is generated.

Claims

1. A method of detecting and correcting a red-eye defect within a digital image, comprising:

acquiring an image including one or more non red eye defect regions having a red color;

performing in a first stage an initial segmentation of candidate redeye regions to determine a first set of one or more confirmed redeye regions designated for correction;

analyzing pixels in a vicinity of at least one of the one or more confirmed red eye regions of the first set;

analyzing the first set of confirmed redeye regions based on the analyzing of said pixels in said vicinity of said at least one of said one or more confirmed red eye regions of said first set;

removing from the first set any confirmed redeye regions having at least a certain threshold probability of being a false positive based on said analyzing of said first set of confirmed red eye regions, and thereby generating a second set;

correcting the second set of confirmed red eye regions and generating a red eye corrected image which has the second set of confirmed red eye regions corrected therein; and

electronically storing, transmitting, further processing or editing, or displaying the red eye corrected image, or combinations thereof,

wherein the performing of the first stage initial segmentation of red eye regions comprises pixel analyzing, and

wherein the method further comprises falsing and verification filtering.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the first stage initial segmentation of red eye regions comprises said falsing and verification filtering.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing and removing are performed prior to any correcting of the image.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising initially correcting the first set of confirmed redeye regions and generating an initial corrected image prior to the analyzing and removing and the generating of said red eye corrected image.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more faces further include at least one red eye defect such that the second set comprises a non-empty set.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set comprises an empty set such that no actual redeye regions are corrected in the image.

7. An embedded image acquisition and processing system, comprising,

(a) an image acquisition subsystem;

(b) a red eye filter that performs in a first stage an initial segmentation of candidate redeye regions detected within an acquired image to determine a first set of one or more confirmed redeye regions designated for correction;

(c) a pixel analyzer configured to analyze pixels in a vicinity of at least one of the one or more confirmed red eye regions of the first set;

(d) an analysis filter that determines a probability that each confirmed redeye region appears at a position of an eye based on results of applying the pixel analyzer to the at least one of the one or more confirmed red eye regions of the first set;

(e) a processor for correcting the red eye defects of the confirmed red eye regions of the first set minus any having at least a certain threshold probability of being a false positive based on said results of applying said pixel analyzer and generating a red eye corrected image; and

(f) wherein the red eye corrected image is electronically stored, transmitted, further processed or edited, or displayed, or combinations thereof;

(g) wherein the performing of the first stage initial segmentation of red eye regions comprises pixel analyzing, and

(h) wherein the method further comprises falsing and verification filtering.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the performing of the first stage initial segmentation of red eye regions comprises said falsing and verification filtering.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the analyzing and removing are performed prior to any correcting of the image.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor further for initially correcting the first set of confirmed redeye regions and generating an initial corrected image prior to the analyzing and removing and the generating of said red eye corrected image.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is configured such that no redeye defects are corrected when no faces are detected within the image.

12. One or more storage devices having processor-readable code embodied therein for programming one or more processors to perform a method of detecting and correcting a red-eye defect within an acquired digital image that includes one or more non red eye defect regions having a red color, the method comprising:

performing in a first stage an initial segmentation of candidate redeye regions to determine a first set of one or more confirmed redeye regions designated for correction;

analyzing pixels in a vicinity of at least one of the one or more confirmed red eye regions of the first set;

analyzing the first set of confirmed redeye regions based on the analyzing of said pixels in said vicinity of said at least one of said one or more confirmed red eye regions of said first set;

removing from the first set any confirmed redeye regions having at least a certain threshold probability of being a false positive based on said analyzing of said first set of confirmed red eye regions, and thereby generating a second set;

correcting the second set of confirmed red eye regions and generating a red eye corrected image which has the second set of confirmed red eye regions corrected therein; and

electronically storing, transmitting, further processing or editing, or displaying the red eye corrected image, or combinations thereof, and

wherein the performing of the first stage initial segmentation of red eye regions comprises pixel analyzing, and

wherein the method further comprises falsing and verification filtering.

13. The one or more storage devices of claim 12, wherein the performing of the first stage initial segmentation of red eye regions comprises said falsing and verification filtering.

14. The one or more storage devices of claim 12, wherein the analyzing and removing are performed prior to any correcting of the image.

15. The one or more storage devices of claim 12, further comprising initially correcting the first set of confirmed redeye regions and generating an initial corrected image prior to the analyzing and removing and the generating of said red eye corrected image.

16. The one or more storage devices of claim 12, wherein the one or more faces further include at least one red eye defect such that the second set comprises a non-empty set.

17. The one or more storage devices of claim 12, wherein the second set comprises an empty set such that no actual redeye regions are corrected in the image.