Image Capture Mode Switching for Low-Power High-Quality Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing power consumption and resource burden on image processing systems when capturing high-quality images is challenging, particularly due to the need for high frame rates and resolutions, which can lead to perceptible delays and increased energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
An image system that switches between a preview mode with reduced quality for real-time viewing and a capture mode with higher quality in anticipation of a user's intent to capture, using trigger events to prepare for high-quality image processing and storage, thereby reducing resource demand and delay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the image system operates in high-quality capture mode continuously, then image quality is improved, but power consumption and resource burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The image system dynamically switches between two operational modes (preview mode and capture mode) based on real-time conditions. In preview mode, the system operates at lower quality settings to conserve power, while in capture mode, it transitions to high-quality settings when a trigger event is detected. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making image quality variable rather than fixed, allowing the system to maintain high quality only when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (image quality settings, processing intensity, frame rate) based on the detected trigger event. When transitioning from preview mode to capture mode, parameters such as resolution, bit depth, and processing complexity are adjusted. This parameter change allows the system to optimize power consumption by using lower parameters during preview and higher parameters during capture, resolving the contradiction between continuous high quality and power savings.
2Manufacturing precision
If the image system processes high-quality image data in real-time, then image quality is improved, but processing delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of trigger events (such as detecting that the user is about to press the shutter button) before the actual capture instruction is given. When a trigger event is detected, the system proactively switches to capture mode and begins preparing high-quality processing in advance. This preliminary action reduces the perceived delay because the system is already in the correct mode and ready to process when the user actually presses the shutter, rather than switching modes after the press.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the image system operates in low-quality preview mode, then power consumption is reduced, but image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging operation is segmented into distinct phases: preview phase and capture phase. During the preview phase, the system uses low-quality settings to conserve power. During the capture phase (triggered by detecting a trigger event), the system switches to high-quality settings. This segmentation allows the system to accept lower quality during the majority of the time (preview) while ensuring high quality is available when needed (capture), resolving the contradiction between power savings and image quality.
4Manufacturing precision
If the image system continuously captures high-quality images, then image quality is improved, but resource burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous high-quality capture, the system uses periodic action by switching between preview mode (low resource usage) and capture mode (high resource usage) based on detected trigger events. The trigger event detection acts as a periodic trigger that initiates high-quality processing only when necessary. This periodic activation of high-quality mode reduces the overall resource burden while maintaining the capability to produce high-quality images when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are a method and apparatus for monitoring for a trigger event, where the trigger event is a determination that a user will issue a capture instruction to capture a target scene, and in response to detecting the trigger event, switching an image system at the apparatus from a first mode of operation, in which image data representing a captured target scene is generated at a first level of quality, to a second mode of operation, in which the image data is generated at a second level of quality, where the second quality level is higher than the first quality.