Hardware Image Deblurring Using Motion Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image blurring due to camera motion, particularly in light-limited situations, is a common issue that often leads to the discarding of photographs, as existing technologies lack effective methods to accurately deblur images captured with motion.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an image sensor and motion-related information assembly that captures and calculates rotational and linear motion during image capture, allowing for the deblurring of images using non-blind deconvolution methods, with the ability to treat different regions of the image differently and perform deblurring on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If camera motion occurs during image capture, then image quality deteriorates due to blur, but increasing shutter speed to freeze motion reduces light intake and creates underexposed images
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary capture of motion data during the exposure period using accelerometers and gyroscopes, then uses this pre-captured motion information to guide the deblurring process. This allows the system to compensate for motion blur after the fact without requiring faster shutter speeds that would reduce light intake.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces motion sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) as intermediary devices that measure camera motion during exposure. These sensors act as mediators between the camera motion and the image processing system, providing quantitative motion data that enables accurate deblurring while maintaining longer exposure times for better light intake.
2Ease of operation
If uniform deblurring is applied to the entire image, then processing simplicity is maintained, but regions with different depth or motion characteristics cannot be optimally corrected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by dividing the image into multiple regions with different deblurring parameters. Each region can have its own point spread function (PSF) and deconvolution parameters based on local depth, motion characteristics, and focus settings. This allows optimally corrected regions with different depth or motion characteristics while maintaining reasonable processing complexity through region-based segmentation.
3Manufacturing precision
If complex deblurring algorithms are used to accurately remove blur, then image quality improves, but computational time and processing complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary capture of motion data during the exposure period using accelerometers and gyroscopes, then uses this pre-captured motion information to guide the deblurring process. This allows the system to compensate for motion blur after the fact without requiring faster shutter speeds that would reduce light intake.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs iterative deconvolution algorithms that use feedback from the captured image and motion data to progressively refine the deblurred result. The system adjusts deblurring parameters based on the actual image content and motion measurements, converging to an optimal solution that balances accuracy with computational efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The described implementations relate to deblurring images. One system includes an imaging device configured to capture an image, a linear motion detector and a rotational motion detector. This system also includes a controller configured to receive a signal from the imaging device relating to capture of the image and to responsively cause the linear motion detector and the rotational motion detector to detect motion-related information. Finally, this particular system includes a motion calculator configured to recover camera motion associated with the image based upon the detected motion-related information and to infer imaging device motion induced blur of the image and an image deblurring component configured to reduce imaging device induced blur from the image utilizing the inferred camera motion induced blur.