Mobile phone using dedicated and programmable processors for pipelined image processing, and method thereof
First Claim
1. A cell phone comprising:
- an image sensor portion that outputs frames of image data;
a processing system coupled to the image sensor portion, the processing system including plural hardware processing units, including;
a first processing unit comprising first circuitry; and
a second processing unit different than the first processing unit, the second processing unit comprising second circuitry different than the first circuitry;
the processing system including an interconnection arrangement that conveys data from an output of the first processing unit to an input of the second processing unit;
a memory containing instructions that cause the processing system to configure a pipelined arrangement in which one of said processing units processes one frame of image data while another of said processing units processes a different frame of image data;
a setup module that sends information specifying operations to be performed on a first frame of data by the first and second processing units, before the pipelined arrangement begins processing said first frame of data; and
a radio interface coupled to the processing system to enable wireless transmission of one or more frames of processed image data from the cell phone;
wherein said instructions and information;
cause the first processing unit to process a first frame of data at a first time, applying a first function;
cause the same first processing unit to process said same first frame of data at a second, later time, applying a second function different than the first function; and
cause the second processing unit to process said same first frame of data between said first and second times, the second processing unit applying a third function different than the first and second functions.
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Abstract
Cell phones and other portable devices are equipped with a variety of technologies by which existing functionality is improved, and new functionality is provided. Some aspects relate to imaging architectures, in which a cell phone'"'"'s image sensor is one in a chain of stages that successively act on instructions/data, to capture and later process imagery. Other aspects relate to distribution of processing tasks between the device and remote resources (“the cloud”). Elemental image processing, such as filtering and edge detection—and even some simpler template matching operations—may be performed on the cell phone. Other operations are referred out to remote service providers. The remote service providers can be identified using techniques such as a reverse auction, through which they compete for processing tasks. Other aspects of the disclosed technologies relate to visual search capabilities, and determining appropriate actions responsive to different image inputs. Still others concern metadata generation, processing, and representation. A great number of other features and arrangements are also detailed.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A cell phone comprising:
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an image sensor portion that outputs frames of image data; a processing system coupled to the image sensor portion, the processing system including plural hardware processing units, including; a first processing unit comprising first circuitry; and a second processing unit different than the first processing unit, the second processing unit comprising second circuitry different than the first circuitry; the processing system including an interconnection arrangement that conveys data from an output of the first processing unit to an input of the second processing unit; a memory containing instructions that cause the processing system to configure a pipelined arrangement in which one of said processing units processes one frame of image data while another of said processing units processes a different frame of image data; a setup module that sends information specifying operations to be performed on a first frame of data by the first and second processing units, before the pipelined arrangement begins processing said first frame of data; and a radio interface coupled to the processing system to enable wireless transmission of one or more frames of processed image data from the cell phone; wherein said instructions and information; cause the first processing unit to process a first frame of data at a first time, applying a first function; cause the same first processing unit to process said same first frame of data at a second, later time, applying a second function different than the first function; and cause the second processing unit to process said same first frame of data between said first and second times, the second processing unit applying a third function different than the first and second functions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A cell phone comprising:
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an image sensor portion that outputs frames of image data; a processing system coupled to the image sensor portion, the processing system including plural hardware processing units, including a first processing unit comprising first circuitry; and
a second processing unit comprising second circuitry different than the first circuitry;a memory containing instructions that cause the processing system to configure a pipelined arrangement in which one of said processing units processes one frame of image data while another of said processing units processes a different frame of image data; and a radio interface coupled to the processing system that enables wireless transmission of one or more frames of processed image data from the cell phone; wherein said processing units are coupled to an interconnection arrangement that permits a frame of data output to an output of the first processing unit to be input to an input of the second processing unit for further processing, and also permits a frame of data output to an output of the second processing unit to be input to an input of the first processing unit for further processing; and wherein said instructions; cause the first processing unit to process a first frame of data at a first time, applying a first function; cause the same first processing unit to process said same first frame of data at a second, later time, applying a second function different than the first function; and cause the second processing unit to process said same first frame of data between said first and second times, the second processing unit applying a third function different than the first and second functions. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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capturing first and second frames of image data, and providing each frame of image data to an image processing system of a cell phone; the image processing system including plural different processing units, each comprising hardware circuitry, said processing units operating in a pipelined arrangement in which data from an output of one of said processing units is conveyed to an input of another of said processing units, and in which one of said processing units processes one frame of image data while another of said processing units processes a different frame of image data, said pipelined image processing system also performing acts including; at a first time, processing one of said frames of image data with a dedicated purpose one of said processing units, whose function is fixed, while also processing the other of said frames of image data with a programmable one of said processing units whose function has been configured to perform a first function; at a second, later, time, again processing said other frame of image data with said programmable processing unit, said programmable processing unit this second time having been configured to perform a second function different than the first function; and between said first and second times, processing said other frame of image data with a processing unit different than said programmable processing unit, which applies a function different than said first and second functions; wherein said programmable processing unit in said pipelined image processing system is used first and second times to perform first and second different functions on a single frame of image data, with said different processing unit processing said single frame of data between said first and second times. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus including:
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a processing system adapted to process received image frames of data, the processing system including plural hardware processing units configured in a pipelined arrangement, so that one of the processing units processes one frame of data while another of said processing units processes a different frame of data, the processing system including; a first processing unit comprising first circuitry; a second processing unit comprising second circuitry different than the first circuitry; and an interconnection arrangement that conveys signals between outputs and inputs of the processing units in said pipelined arrangement; a setup module that is adapted to send setup information to the pipelined arrangement, the setup information specifying operations to be performed by the first and second processing units on the frames of data; wherein said setup information; causes the first processing unit to process a first frame of data at a first time, applying a first function; causes the same first processing unit to process said same first frame of data at a second, later time, applying a second function different than the first function; and causes the second processing unit to process said same first frame of data between said first and second times, the second processing unit applying a third function different than the first and second functions; and wherein the setup module sends the setup information specifying operations to be performed on a first frame of data by the first and second processing units, before the pipelined arrangement begins processing said first frame of data. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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Specification