Image Processing System Using Foveal Rendering and Color Uniformity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The demand for high-quality video and video game content, especially for virtual reality, requires significant processing power, which can be a challenge for hardware that is not frequently updated or is limited by cost or portability, necessitating optimization of content and generation processes to improve quality while reducing processing requirements.
Innovation Solution
Flexible scale rasterization and color uniformity processing methods are employed to dynamically adjust image quality and resolution based on the region of interest, using eye-tracking data and content properties to identify areas for higher or lower quality rendering, and applying filters to increase color uniformity, thereby reducing processing burden and improving content quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high-quality image rendering is applied to entire image display area, then image quality is improved, but processing power requirement increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different rendering qualities to different regions of the image display area. A first region (foveal region) is rendered with first image quality while a second region (peripheral region) is rendered with second image quality that is lower than the first. This resolves the contradiction by providing high image quality only where needed (central foveal region) while reducing processing power requirements through lower quality rendering in peripheral areas where human vision is less sensitive.
2Power
If image resolution is reduced in non-focal areas, then processing power requirement is reduced, but image quality uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately creates non-uniform image quality across different regions, with higher resolution in the focal region and lower resolution in non-focal regions. This resolves the contradiction by accepting quality non-uniformity as a necessary trade-off to reduce processing power requirements, while maintaining overall perceptual quality through strategic placement of high-quality regions.
3Power
If foveal rendering with eye gaze tracking is implemented, then processing power requirement is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses eye gaze tracking to automatically determine which regions should receive high-quality rendering, eliminating the need for manual configuration or complex user input. The eye tracking device continuously monitors user gaze and dynamically adjusts rendering quality accordingly, allowing the system to self-optimize processing power allocation based on actual user attention without requiring complex external control mechanisms.
4Productivity
If color uniformity processing is applied, then encoding efficiency is improved, but processing power requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color uniformity processing selectively to non-foveal regions where color variations are less perceptible to human vision. By concentrating color uniformity efforts in peripheral regions rather than applying them uniformly across the entire image, the system improves encoding efficiency in areas where it matters most while minimizing the additional processing power required.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for generating image content, the system comprising an image region identification unit operable to identify one or more regions of an image to be displayed as low-detail regions, an image processing unit operable to perform processing to reduce colour differences for each of one or more areas within one or more of the identified regions, and an image output unit operable to output one or more processed images.