Guide-Assisted Material Capture for Aligned Digital Images
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designers face challenges in accurately capturing and sharing material data, such as fabric samples, due to the lack of portable and effective data collection methods, leading to difficulties in collaboration and understanding material attributes across different manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
A material data collection system using a handheld device and capture guide to convert real-world materials into high-quality digital assets, with features like alignment correction, lighting calibration, and metadata capture, ensuring accurate and shareable digital images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flatbed scanner is used to capture material data, then digital images can be obtained, but the device is not portable and requires the user to go to the scanner
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical flatbed scanner system with a mobile device camera system. The camera captures images of materials in-situ, eliminating the need to physically transport materials to a scanner. The mobile device combines illumination, imaging, and processing in a single portable unit, resolving the portability contradiction.
2Loss of information
If manufacturer provided descriptions are used, then basic material information is available, but the information lacks specificity and consistency across manufacturers
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures actual visual data from material samples and uses image analysis to objectively determine material attributes. This feedback loop replaces subjective manufacturer descriptions with measurable, consistent data. The system can compare captured images against reference standards to verify material properties, ensuring accuracy and consistency across different manufacturers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates digital copies (photographs) of actual material samples rather than relying on manufacturer descriptions. These visual copies preserve the true appearance, texture, and characteristics of materials, providing a more accurate and consistent representation than textual descriptions from different manufacturers with varying nomenclatures.
3Reliability
If physical material samples are kept in a library, then actual materials can be examined, but it is difficult for designers to work collaboratively across different locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates high-quality digital copies of physical material samples that can be shared and viewed remotely. These digital images preserve the visual characteristics of the original materials, allowing designers at different locations to examine and collaborate on material selections without physically accessing the sample library. The digital copies maintain sufficient fidelity for design decision-making.
4Ease of operation
If a mobile device camera is used to capture material images, then portability is improved, but lens defects such as pin-cushion effect and fisheye effect occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration and correction of lens distortions before capturing production images. By characterizing the specific distortion patterns of each mobile device camera in advance, the system can apply appropriate correction algorithms to eliminate pin-cushion and fisheye effects, ensuring accurate material representation while maintaining portability.
Data Source
AI summary
A material data collection system allows capturing of material data. For example, the material data collection system may include digital image data for materials. The material data collection system may ensure that captured digital image data is properly aligned, so that material data may be easily recalled for later use, while maintaining the proper alignment for the captured digital image. The material data collection system may include using a capture guide, to provide cues on how to orient a mobile device used with the material data collection system.