Digital image acquisition control and correction method and apparatus

• US 8,265,348 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2011
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FotoNation Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DigitalOptics Corporation Europe Limited (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Steinberg, Eran, Corcoran, Peter, Bigioi, Petronel
• Primary Examiner(s): Liew, Alex
• Application Number:
  US13/191,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20110279700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 413 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382115-118, 382141-152, 382124-127
• US Class Current: 382/117
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/98 Detection or correction of errors, e.g. by rescanning the pattern or by human intervention; Evaluation of the quality of the acquired patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/993 Evaluation of the quality of the acquired pattern
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/175 Static expression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image

Abstract

An unsatisfactory scene is disqualified as an image acquisition control for a camera. An image is acquired. One or more mouth regions are determined. The mouth regions are analyzed to determined whether they are frowning, and if so, then the scene is disqualified as a candidate for a processed, permanent image while the mouth is completing the frowning.

Claims

1. A method of selectively disqualifying a scene as a candidate for permanent capture, storage or processing, or combinations thereof, the method comprising:

detecting and tracking a face, partial face or eye within a scene in a preacquisition stage, in a video stream or within a collection of preview images, or combinations thereof;

performing a shape analysis of the eye;

determining that the eye is currently in a blinking process;

rejecting the scene as a candidate for digital image capture due to the blinking; and

automatically acquiring a digital image after delaying for a period of time, wherein the delaying of said acquiring the digital image corresponds to an estimated time for said blinking process to end based on said shape analysis of said eye.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting and tracking comprises acquiring a collection of preview images.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal analysis comprises determining a speed at which the eye lid is closing or opening the eye.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal analysis comprises determining a speed of the eye lid for determining when the blinking process will end.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal analysis comprises a speed and a direction of the movement of the eye lid.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an extent to which the eye ball of the eye is showing.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining whether the eye ball is currently being covered or uncovered.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining temporal analysis of movement comprises determining a direction of movement of the eye lid.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing temporal analysis comprises determining a degree of blurriness of the eye lid due to movement.

10. One or more non-transitory processor-readable media having code embedded therein for programming a processor to perform a method of selectively disqualifying a scene as a candidate for permanent capture, storage or processing, or combinations thereof, the method comprising:

detecting and tracking a face, partial face or eye within a scene in a preacquisition stage, in a video stream or within a collection of preview images, or combinations thereof;

performing a shape analysis of the eye;

determining that the eye is currently in a blinking process;

rejecting the scene as a candidate for digital image capture due to the blinking; and

automatically acquiring a digital image after delaying for a period of time, wherein the delaying of said acquiring the digital image corresponds to an estimated time for said blinking process to end based on said shape analysis of said eye.

11. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, wherein the detecting and tracking comprises acquiring a collection of preview images.

12. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, wherein the temporal analysis comprises determining a speed at which the eye lid is closing or opening the eye.

13. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, wherein the temporal analysis comprises determining a speed of the eye lid for determining when the blinking process will end.

14. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, wherein the temporal analysis comprises a speed and a direction of the movement of the eye lid.

15. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, the method further comprising determining an extent to which the eye ball of the eye is showing.

16. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 15, the method further comprising determining whether the eye ball is currently being covered or uncovered.

17. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, wherein the determining temporal analysis of movement comprises determining a direction of movement of the eye lid.

18. The one or more non-transitory processor-readable media of claim 10, wherein the performing temporal analysis comprises determining a degree of blurriness of the eye lid due to movement.

19. A digital image acquisition device, comprising:

a lens and image sensor for acquiring digital images;

a processor; and

one or more processor-readable media having code embedded therein for programming the processor to perform a method of selectively disqualifying a scene as a candidate for permanent capture, storage or processing, or combinations thereof, wherein the method comprises;

detecting and tracking a face, partial face or eye within a scene in a preacquisition stage, in a video stream or within a collection of preview images, or combinations thereof;

performing a shape analysis of the eye;

determining that the eye is currently in a blinking process;

rejecting the scene as a candidate for digital image capture due to the blinking; and

automatically acquiring a digital image after delaying for a period of time, wherein the delaying of said acquiring the digital image corresponds to an estimated time for said blinking process to end based on said shape analysis of said eye.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the detecting and tracking comprises acquiring a collection of preview images.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein the temporal analysis comprises determining a speed at which the eye lid is closing or opening the eye.

22. The device of claim 19, wherein the temporal analysis comprises determining a speed of the eye lid for determining when the blinking process will end.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein the temporal analysis comprises a speed and a direction of the movement of the eye lid.

24. The device of claim 19, the method further comprising determining an extent to which the eye ball of the eye is showing.

25. The device of claim 24, the method further comprising determining whether the eye ball is currently being covered or uncovered.

26. The device of claim 19, wherein the determining temporal analysis of movement comprises determining a direction of movement of the eye lid.

27. The device of claim 19, wherein the performing temporal analysis comprises determining a degree of blurriness of the eye lid due to movement.