Depth Map Engine Invalid Area Detection via Gray Level Marking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing depth map generation methods using stereo matching produce error-prone depth information in invalid areas due to differences between left and right eye images, requiring complex magnification and cropping processes.
Innovation Solution
An image device and method that includes sensors, a pre-processing module, a depth map engine, and an error determination unit to generate a reference image and a target image, setting gray level values of invalid pixels to predetermined values to identify and isolate invalid depth information, thereby reducing errors and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If magnification and cropping processes are applied to generate rectified images, then depth map accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by marking invalid areas in the original images before rectification. The synchronization unit identifies and marks invalid areas in captured images, then the rectifier preserves these markings through the rectification process. This allows the depth map engine to automatically exclude marked areas from depth calculation, eliminating the need for post-processing magnification and cropping operations while maintaining depth map accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If magnification operations are performed on original images, then depth information accuracy is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates invalid area information from the image processing pipeline. By using the synchronization unit to identify and mark invalid areas beforehand, the system extracts only the necessary valid area information for depth map generation. This eliminates the need for power-consuming magnification operations on entire images, as the depth map engine processes only valid areas, significantly reducing power consumption while maintaining depth information accuracy.
3Reliability
If rectified images are cropped to remove invalid areas, then measurement reliability is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-marking invalid areas before rectification and depth map generation. The synchronization unit identifies invalid areas in the captured images and marks them with specific pixel values. These markings are preserved through rectification, allowing the depth map engine to automatically skip marked areas during processing. This eliminates the need for time-consuming cropping operations after rectification, maintaining measurement reliability while significantly reducing processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
An image device for determining an invalid depth information of a depth image includes a first sensor, a second sensor, a pre-processing module, a depth map engine, and an error determination unit. The first sensor captures first images and the second sensor captures second images. The pre-processing module generates a reference image according to each first image of the first images and a target image corresponding to the reference image according to a second image of the second images. The depth map engine generates a first depth image according to the reference image and the target image. The error determination unit sets gray level values of pixels of invalid areas of the first depth image to be a predetermined value to generate a second depth image, wherein pixels of the second depth image with the predetermined value have the invalid depth information.