Dual Camera White Balance Correction in Mobile Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile terminals with cameras often experience color errors during white balance correction, especially when the light source cannot be estimated or has a color similar to the subject, leading to deteriorated camera quality.
Innovation Solution
A mobile terminal with a first camera and a second camera having a wider angle of view, where the controller sets a white balance reference value using image data from the second camera and corrects images captured by the first camera, optionally aided by a light source sensor to determine the type of light source, and displays a warning or guide image to improve image data acquisition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a white balance algorithm is carried out through color distribution received from a camera with a limited angle of view, then the processing is simple, but color errors occur when the light source cannot be estimated or has a color similar to the subject
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system is segmented into two distinct cameras: a first camera with a limited angle of view for capturing the subject, and a second camera with a wide angle of view for capturing the surrounding environment including the light source. This segmentation allows each camera to perform its specialized function, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The second camera acts as an intermediary device that captures environmental information (light source characteristics) which is then used to assist the white balance algorithm. This intermediary camera provides the additional data needed to improve white balance accuracy without requiring the first camera to have enhanced capabilities.
2Measurement precision
If image data is captured with a wider angle of view to improve white balance reference value, then color accuracy is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional cameras
Solution Approach 1:
The second camera with wide angle of view serves multiple functions: it captures the light source for white balance reference, captures the surrounding environment for context, and can potentially capture subjects in wide-angle mode. This multi-functionality justifies the additional device by making it versatile rather than specialized for a single task.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of angle of view by using two cameras with different field-of-view parameters. The first camera uses a narrow angle of view for detailed subject capture, while the second camera uses a wide angle of view for environmental context. This parameter differentiation allows each camera to optimize its function while working together to solve the color accuracy problem.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile terminal according to the present disclosure comprises: a terminal body; a display unit mounted on the terminal body; a first camera which is disposed on one surface of the terminal body and takes a photograph at a first angle of view; a second camera which is disposed adjacent to the first camera and takes a photograph at a second angle of view larger than the first angle of view; and a controller which sets a white balance reference value using image data acquired by the second camera and outputs, to the display unit, a corrected image acquired by correcting an image, captured by the first camera, on the basis of the white balance reference value.