Handheld Document Imaging via Video Frame Stitching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional document imaging methods using handheld devices struggle to capture high-resolution images of documents efficiently, as they often require stopping to take still images and aligning the device precisely, which can be time-consuming and inconvenient.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a handheld device with an image sensor and processor to capture a video sequence, analyze frames, and provide real-time maneuvering indications to guide the user in stitching a mosaic image of the document, allowing for continuous capture and adaptive alignment without stopping, even with low-resolution frames.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If still images are captured with a handheld device, then document imaging is achieved, but capture time increases and alignment precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures video frames continuously at high frame rates (e.g., 30-60 fps) without requiring the user to stop or manually trigger each capture. This continuous capture process maintains the useful action of document imaging while reducing total capture time, as the system processes multiple frames per second automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to the user through visual indicators showing capture progress, alignment status, and guidance cues. This feedback mechanism enables the user to maintain proper alignment continuously during video capture, improving alignment precision without requiring repeated manual adjustments between still images.
2Measurement precision
If multiple still images are captured and stitched, then mosaic image resolution improves, but device complexity and operation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs frame selection, stitching, and mosaic image generation without requiring manual user intervention. The processor autonomously selects appropriate frames from the video sequence, aligns them, and creates the final mosaic image, making the complex multi-frame process as easy to operate as capturing a single still image.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-processes video frames by selecting optimal frames during capture based on quality metrics and document visibility. This preliminary action ensures that only the best frames are used for stitching, achieving high-resolution mosaic images while simplifying the user's task to merely holding the device steady during capture.
3Productivity
If video sequence is captured continuously, then capture speed improves, but frame selection complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures video frames at a high rate (excessive action) but only selects and processes a subset of these frames for the final mosaic image (partial action). This approach maintains high capture speed while reducing processing complexity by filtering out redundant or low-quality frames automatically based on predefined criteria such as document visibility and frame stability.
4Measurement precision
If manual alignment is required for each frame, then alignment precision improves, but capture time and user burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical alignment operations with automated computational image processing. The processor automatically aligns video frames using feature detection and image registration algorithms, achieving precision comparable to or exceeding manual alignment while eliminating the time burden of repeated manual adjustments between frames.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of stitching frames of a video sequence to image a target document. The method comprises capturing a group of frames of a video sequence using an image sensor of a handheld device having a display, during the capturing, analyzing the video sequence to select iteratively a group of the frames, each member of the group depicts another of segments of a target document, during the capturing, sequentially presenting a plurality maneuvering indications, each the maneuvering indication is presented after a certain frame depicting a certain of the segments is captured and indicative of a maneuvering gesture required for bringing the image sensor to capture another frame depicting another segment of the segments, the another segment being complementary and adjacent to the certain segment, and stitching members of the group to create a mosaic image depicting the target document as a whole.