Image Sensor Color Filter Segmentation for Low-Light Hand-Trembling Blur
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital cameras face challenges in capturing clear images in low-light conditions due to hand-trembling and noise, as existing methods struggle to accurately stabilize images and remove noise without additional processing steps.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that utilize a color filter with color pixels and a reference pixel to obtain aligned long-exposure and short-exposure images, controlling exposure times to estimate the hand-trembling function and perform deconvolution on the long-exposure image to restore a high-quality color image.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If long exposure time is used to capture more light in low-light conditions, then image brightness is improved, but hand-trembling blur increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the imaging process into two separate exposures: a long-exposure color image for brightness and a short-exposure reference image for stability. By segmenting the function between color pixels (long exposure) and reference pixels (short exposure), the system captures both sufficient light and minimal hand-trembling blur simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference image obtained from short-exposure reference pixels serves as an intermediary to estimate the hand-trembling function. This intermediary information is then used to deconvolve and restore the long-exposure color image, indirectly addressing the blur problem without sacrificing brightness.
2Stability of the object's composition
If short exposure time is used to reduce hand-trembling blur, then image stability is improved, but image brightness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent assigns different exposure times to different pixel types: reference pixels use short exposure for stability while color pixels use long exposure for brightness. This segmentation allows each pixel type to optimize for its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the information from the short-exposure reference image and the long-exposure color image through deconvolution processing. The reference image provides stability information that is combined with the bright color image to produce a final restored image that has both brightness and sharpness.
3Measurement precision
If image processing is performed to remove noise and stabilize images, then image quality is improved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by capturing the hand-trembling information in advance through the short-exposure reference image. This reference information is prepared beforehand and used to guide the restoration process, simplifying the overall processing compared to attempting to remove blur and noise from a single long-exposure image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback by employing the reference image to estimate the hand-trembling function, which then feeds back into the restoration process of the color image. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adaptively remove blur based on actual captured motion information rather than using fixed processing algorithms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for accurate estimation of the hand-trembling function, avoiding alignment errors and enabling the restoration of clear, high-quality color images in low-light conditions, effectively addressing the limitations of existing technologies.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor which detects a pixel array value by using a color filter including color pixels for obtaining a color image
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are an apparatus and method of obtaining a high-quality image by efficiently processing an image obtained at low-light levels. The image obtaining apparatus comprises a sensor which detects a pixel array value by using a color filter including color pixels for obtaining a color image and a reference pixel for obtaining a reference image used for hand-trembling function estimation; an exposure controller which controls exposure times of the color pixels and the reference pixel; and an image generator which generates a long-exposure color image signal and a short-exposure reference image signal from the detected pixel array value, the long-exposure color image signal and the short-exposure reference image signal being aligned with each other. Accordingly, accurate estimation of the hand-trembling function is possible, thereby enabling the high-quality color image restoration.