Color Chart Mediator for Accurate Image Search
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image search systems face challenges in accurately identifying colors under varying lighting conditions, leading to search omissions when colors are recognized differently due to lighting environments with poor color rendering properties.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus and method that uses a color chart to derive and register color information, allowing for accurate color name association across different environments, enabling effective search for images based on color names.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If color conversion is performed under ambient light with poor color rendering properties, then color information can be obtained, but color accuracy deteriorates leading to search omissions
Solution Approach 1:
A color chart serves as an intermediary reference object captured alongside the target object. The color chart provides known reference colors that are used to calculate color conversion parameters, enabling accurate color conversion even under ambient light with poor color rendering properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts color conversion parameters based on the captured image conditions. By calculating conversion parameters from the color chart in each captured image, the system adapts to different lighting environments and maintains color accuracy despite variations in illumination conditions.
2Stability of the object's composition
If color conversion to standard light source is attempted, then color consistency improves, but conversion accuracy deteriorates under poor color rendering lights
Solution Approach 1:
The color chart acts as a mediator between the ambient light conditions and the standard light source representation. By capturing the color chart under the same lighting conditions as the target object, the system establishes an accurate mapping from ambient light colors to standard light source colors, avoiding direct and inaccurate conversion from poor color rendering lights.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the color chart image captured under the same conditions as the target object. This copied reference is then used to calculate conversion parameters specific to that lighting environment, ensuring that the conversion accuracy reflects the actual capture conditions rather than assuming ideal conversion from standard light source.
3Ease of operation
If color names are assigned based on RGB values under varying lighting, then search functionality is enabled, but search accuracy deteriorates due to color variation
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the color conversion parameters for each captured image based on the lighting conditions detected from the color chart. This ensures that RGB values are consistently converted to color names regardless of the ambient light conditions, maintaining search accuracy while preserving search functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The color chart provides feedback information about the current lighting conditions. By analyzing the captured color chart, the system determines the appropriate conversion parameters to apply, creating a feedback loop that adjusts color naming to match actual capture conditions, thereby maintaining search accuracy across varying environments.
Data Source
AI summary
A captured image obtained by capturing a surface on which a color chart is disposed such that color information representing a color included in the color chart can be derived is acquired, the color information is derived from the captured image, and the color of the color chart that is contained in the captured image is extracted. Then, the derived color information and the extracted color are registered in association with each other.