Automated Image Capture via Spatial Stability Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing image capture processes in digital cameras and cellular telephones are time-consuming and degrade user experience due to the need for manual operation and potential blurry images, limiting the willingness to acquire images and use software applications that leverage image information.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device that automatically captures images by stabilizing spatial-position information using integrated accelerometers and gyroscopes, allowing image acquisition without user activation of a physical or virtual button, and optionally adjusts the image-capture zone for improved focus and information extraction through optical character recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual image capture operations are used (holding device, pointing, focusing, pressing button), then the user has control over the capture process, but the time required for image acquisition increases and user experience degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects when the device is properly positioned and stabilized, then autonomously triggers the image capture without requiring manual button pressing. The processor monitors spatial-position information from sensors, determines when capture conditions are met, and activates the imaging sensor automatically, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring continuous user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary stabilization and positioning checks before initiating image capture. By using sensors to detect spatial-position information and determining in advance whether the device is properly positioned and stable, the system prepares all necessary conditions before the actual capture moment, eliminating the need for manual focusing and positioning adjustments during the capture process.
2Reliability
If multiple post-acquisition operations are performed (editing, cropping, re-capturing), then image quality can be improved, but the overall time consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary checks of spatial stability and positioning accuracy before capturing the image. By using sensors to detect whether the device is stable and properly positioned, and by providing visual feedback to guide the user, the system ensures that the image is captured at the optimal moment with correct positioning, eliminating the need for post-capture cropping or re-capturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to the user through visual indicators showing whether the device is properly positioned and stable for capture. This feedback mechanism guides the user to achieve optimal positioning and stability, ensuring high-quality images are captured on the first attempt without requiring post-acquisition editing or re-capturing.
3Productivity
If automated capture based on spatial stability is implemented, then capture time is reduced and ease of operation improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional sensors and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing sensors in the device (accelerometers, gyroscopes, or other spatial-position sensors) that were originally designed for other purposes such as screen orientation or motion detection. By repurposing these existing sensors for automated image capture triggering, the system adds functionality without requiring entirely new hardware components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines the functions of spatial-position detection, stability determination, and image capture triggering into a single integrated automated process. The processor that already exists for general device operation is extended to also handle sensor data analysis and capture timing, merging multiple functions into existing components rather than adding separate dedicated systems for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
During an image-capture technique, a user of the electronic device may be instructed by an application executed by the electronic device (such as a software application) to point an imaging sensor, which is integrated into the electronic device, toward a location on a document. For example, the user may be instructed to point a cellular-telephone camera toward a field on an invoice. Then, when spatial-position information associated with the electronic device (such as spatial-position information associated with an accelerometer and/or a gyroscope integrated in the electronic device) remains within a predefined range for a predefined time duration, the electronic device communicates a signal to the imaging device to acquire the image. Note that the image may be acquired without additional action by the user.