Binarization Processor Dynamic Threshold Adjustment for Skin Color Tracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Target tracking systems face challenges in dynamically controlling threshold values under varying illuminance and light source conditions, leading to failures in target extraction, especially with human skin colors, due to the lack of feedback mechanisms and difficulties in handling flicker and color changes in high-frame-rate imaging.

Innovation Solution

An image processing system with a binarization processor that includes a color-specific multiplier, adjuster, and driving information generator, which adjusts color levels and calculates ratios to enhance target extraction accuracy, suppresses flicker and color changes by integrating and feeding back periodic brightness changes, and performs auto white balance and exposure adjustments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a fixed threshold value is used for binarization, then the device complexity is low, but the target extraction accuracy deteriorates under varying illuminance and light source conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetarget extraction accuracyVSAvoidprocessing system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic threshold adjustment by introducing a feedback mechanism that calculates the standard deviation of pixel values and adapts the threshold value in real-time based on image content characteristics. This resolves the contradiction by making the threshold dynamic rather than fixed, improving extraction accuracy under varying conditions while maintaining reasonable system complexity through efficient statistical calculations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs a feedback mechanism where the binarization result is evaluated and the threshold is adjusted based on the standard deviation of pixel values and the distribution of foreground/background pixels. This feedback loop continuously optimizes the threshold to maintain high extraction accuracy while adapting to changing illuminance and light source conditions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If the frame rate is increased for high-speed tracking, then the tracking speed is improved, but flicker and color changes become more pronounced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetracking speedVSAvoidimage brightness and color stability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent addresses flicker by implementing periodic compensation based on the known frequency characteristics of light sources. By detecting and compensating for periodic brightness variations at the increased frame rate, the system maintains stable color and brightness representation even when capturing at high speeds

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent dynamically adjusts processing parameters including threshold values, color balance corrections, and exposure compensation based on real-time analysis of image statistics. These parameter changes adapt to the specific conditions at each frame, maintaining stability despite high-frame-rate operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Measurement precision

If color-specific processing is added to handle skin tones, then the target extraction accuracy for human subjects is improved, but the processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveskin color target extraction accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the color processing into specific channels (e.g., skin tone detection in L*a*b* color space) and applies targeted processing only where needed. This selective approach improves skin color extraction accuracy while minimizing overall processing time by avoiding full-color-space processing of all pixels

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3474534B1Image processing apparatus, imaging apparatus, and image processing system
Publication Date: 2023.12.20 SONY GROUP CORP
  • EP3474534B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3474534B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3474534B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An image processor according to the present disclosure includes: a multiplier that receives image data from a pixel section including pixels of a plurality of colors and multiplies the image data by an adjustment parameter that adjusts a color level in each of the pixels; an adjuster that calculates a ratio of respective colors in each of the pixels in the image data and adjusts a value of the adjustment parameter on the basis of the ratio of the respective colors; and a binarization processor that extracts a target image of a specific color on the basis of the image data multiplied by the adjustment parameter.