HDR Image Bit Splitting for Lower-Power High Bit Depth Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing amount of image data captured by image capture devices leads to higher power consumption and processing demands, which can shorten the operating time of devices using battery power, particularly in mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
Processing higher bitwidth images using lower bitwidth logic through companding and decompanding techniques, allowing multiple image frames of lower bitwidth to represent a single image frame of higher bitwidth, thereby improving image quality and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If higher bitwidth image data is processed directly, then image quality is improved, but power consumption and processing demands increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the high bitwidth image data into multiple lower bitwidth image frames through bit splitting. Each frame contains a subset of the bit depth information, allowing processing using lower bitwidth logic while preserving the ability to reconstruct the full high bitwidth image quality when needed.
2Measurement precision
If more image data is captured to increase resolution, then image detail is improved, but processing time and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies bit splitting to divide high bitwidth image data into multiple lower bitwidth frames, enabling parallel or sequential processing of smaller data units. This segmentation reduces the processing time required for each individual frame while maintaining the capability to reconstruct high-resolution images from the combined data.
3Measurement precision
If higher bitwidth logic is used to process high bitdepth images, then image quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments high bitwidth image processing into multiple passes over lower bitwidth data. Instead of requiring complex high bitwidth logic throughout the processing pipeline, the system processes simpler lower bitwidth frames multiple times, reducing device complexity while achieving equivalent image quality through iterative refinement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of the image data in the form of separate lower bitwidth frames, each representing a different bit plane or subset of the original high bitwidth data. These copies can be processed independently using simpler logic, then combined to reconstruct the full-quality image without requiring complex high bitwidth processing hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for image signal processing that support high dynamic range (HDR) image processing. In a first aspect, a method of image processing includes receiving, by a processor, first image data comprising a plurality of image frames comprising at least a first image frame having a first bitwidth and a second image frame having a second bitwidth, wherein the plurality of image frames represent a same scene; and determining a processed image frame having an output bitwidth higher than the first bitwidth and higher than the second bitwidth, the processed image frame based on the plurality of image frames by combining the plurality of image frames to obtain the output bitwidth. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.