Method and apparatus for low cost motion detection
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of detecting motion of an object in a first image, said method comprising:
- using a motion detection circuit, determining weighted row and column averages of a reference image;
using the motion detection circuit, determining weighted row and column averages of the first image;
using the motion detection circuit, detecting motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference image and the first image;
using the motion detection circuit, shifting the weighted row average of the reference image to compensate for vertical movement of an imager that captured the first image; and
using the motion detection circuit, shifting the weighted column average of the reference image to compensate for horizontal movement of the imager.
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Abstract
A non-frame-based motion detection method and apparatus for imagers requires only a few line buffers and little computation. The non-frame-based, low cost motion detection method and apparatus are well suited for “system-a-chip” (SOC) imager implementations.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of detecting motion of an object in a first image, said method comprising:
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using a motion detection circuit, determining weighted row and column averages of a reference image; using the motion detection circuit, determining weighted row and column averages of the first image; using the motion detection circuit, detecting motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference image and the first image; using the motion detection circuit, shifting the weighted row average of the reference image to compensate for vertical movement of an imager that captured the first image; and using the motion detection circuit, shifting the weighted column average of the reference image to compensate for horizontal movement of the imager. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of detecting motion of an object in a first image, said method comprising:
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using a motion detection circuit, determining weighted row and column averages of a reference image; using the motion detection circuit, determining weighted row and column averages of the first image; and using the motion detection circuit, detecting motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference image and the first image, wherein the detecting motion step comprises; using the motion detection circuit, creating a vertical motion mask based on the determined weighted row averages of the first and reference images; using the motion detection circuit, creating a horizontal motion mask based on the determined weighted column average of the first and reference images; and using the motion detection circuit, combining the vertical and horizontal motion masks to create a two-dimensional motion mask comprising at least one portion indicative of motion of the object. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A motion detection circuit comprising:
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a plurality of line buffers, a first line buffer for storing a weighted row average of a reference image, a second line buffer for storing a weighed row average of a first image, a third line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the reference image and a fourth line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the first image; and logic for detecting motion of an object in the first image by computing and storing the weighted row and column averages of the reference and first images and detecting the motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference and first images, wherein said logic shifts the weighted row average of the reference image to compensate for vertical movement of an imager that captured the first image and shifts the weighted column average of the reference image to compensate for horizontal movement of the imager. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A motion detection circuit comprising:
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a plurality of line buffers, a first line buffer for storing a weighted row average of a reference image, a second line buffer for storing a weighed row average of a first image, a third line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the reference image and a fourth line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the first image; and logic for detecting motion of an object in the first image by computing and storing the weighted row and column averages of the reference and first images and detecting the motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference and first images, wherein the logic detects motion of the object by; creating a vertical motion mask based on the determined weighted row averages of the first and reference images; creating a horizontal motion mask based on the determined weighted column average of the first and reference images; and combining the vertical and horizontal motion masks to create a two-dimensional motion mask comprising at least one portion indicative of motion of the object. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. An imager comprising:
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an image sensor for capturing a reference image and a first image and for outputting digital reference image data and first image data; and a motion detection circuit connected to input the reference image data and the first image data, said circuit comprising; a plurality of line buffers, a first line buffer for storing a weighted row average of the reference image, a second line buffer for storing a weighed row average of the first image, a third line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the reference image and a fourth line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the first image; and a processor programmed to perform motion of an object in the first image, said processor performing a first process to compute and store the weighted row average of the reference image, a second process to compute and store the weighted column average of the reference image, a third process to compute and store the weighted row average of the first image, a fourth process to compute and store the weighted column average of the first image, and a fifth process for detecting the motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference and first images, wherein the processor performs a sixth process for shifting the weighted row average of the reference image to compensate for vertical movement of the image sensor and a seventh process for shifting the weighted column average of the reference image to compensate for horizontal movement of the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. An imager comprising:
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an image sensor for capturing a reference image and a first image and for outputting digital reference image data and first image data; and a motion detection circuit connected to input the reference image data and the first image data, said circuit comprising; a plurality of line buffers, a first line buffer for storing a weighted row average of the reference image, a second line buffer for storing a weighed row average of the first image, a third line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the reference image and a fourth line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the first image; and a processor programmed to perform motion of an object in the first image, said processor performing a first process to compute and store the weighted row average of the reference image, a second process to compute and store the weighted column average of the reference image, a third process to compute and store the weighted row average of the first image, a fourth process to compute and store the weighted column average of the first image, and a fifth process for detecting the motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference and first images, wherein the fifth process comprises; a process for creating a vertical motion mask based on the determined weighted row averages of the first and reference images; a process for creating a horizontal motion mask based on the determined weighted column average of the first and reference images; and a process for combining the vertical and horizontal motion masks to create a two-dimensional motion mask comprising at least one portion indicative of motion of the object.
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27. An imager comprising:
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an image sensor for capturing a reference image and a first image and for outputting digital reference image data and first image data; and a motion detection circuit connected to input the reference image data and the first image data, said circuit comprising; a plurality of line buffers, a first line buffer for storing a weighted row average of the reference image, a second line buffer for storing a weighed row average of the first image, a third line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the reference image and a fourth line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the first image; and a processor programmed to perform motion of an object in the first image, said processor performing a first process to compute and store the weighted row average of the reference image, a second process to compute and store the weighted column average of the reference image, a third process to compute and store the weighted row average of the first image, a fourth process to compute and store the weighted column average of the first image, and a fifth process for detecting the motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference and first images, wherein the weighted row average Arow (f)(y) of the reference image or first image is computed according to
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28. An imager comprising:
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an image sensor for capturing a reference image and a first image and for outputting digital reference image data and first image data; and a motion detection circuit connected to input the reference image data and the first image data, said circuit comprising; a plurality of line buffers, a first line buffer for storing a weighted row average of the reference image, a second line buffer for storing a weighed row average of the first image, a third line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the reference image and a fourth line buffer for storing a weighted column average of the first image; and a processor programmed to perform motion of an object in the first image, said processor performing a first process to compute and store the weighted row average of the reference image, a second process to compute and store the weighted column average of the reference image, a third process to compute and store the weighted row average of the first image, a fourth process to compute and store the weighted column average of the first image, and a fifth process for detecting the motion of the object based on the determined weighted column and row averages of the reference and first images, wherein the weighted column average Acol (f)(x) of the reference image or first image is computed according to
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Specification