Imaging Processor Temporal Spatial Addition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional imaging devices face challenges in maintaining image quality due to reduced light incidence on pixels as pixel size decreases, leading to a deterioration in signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and making it difficult to increase resolution and frame rate effectively.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a single imager with both temporal and spatial addition functions, along with an image restoring process that performs pixel value estimations across multiple frames and pixels, ensures sufficient light exposure and enhances image resolution and frame rate while maintaining image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If pixel size is reduced to increase resolution, then resolution is improved, but signal-to-noise ratio deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple low-resolution images through temporal and spatial addition to create a single high-resolution image. Multiple images are merged by adding their pixel values, effectively combining the information from each image to achieve higher resolution without requiring individual large pixels
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from spatial resolution improvement (larger pixels) to temporal resolution improvement (multiple frames). By adding images across time dimensions, the system achieves high resolution through temporal accumulation rather than spatial enlargement, effectively working around the pixel size limitation
2Measurement precision
If pixel size is reduced to increase resolution, then resolution is improved, but image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple images are merged through temporal and spatial addition processes. The system combines information from multiple frames and pixels to reconstruct a high-quality high-resolution image, effectively merging the strengths of multiple lower-quality individual images into a single high-quality result
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary image capture at lower resolution with sufficient light, then applies restoration processing to enhance the image quality. By capturing images first under optimal lighting conditions and then processing them algorithmically, the system achieves high resolution and quality without requiring large pixels during capture
3Productivity
If frame rate is increased to improve temporal resolution, then frame rate is improved, but light incidence per frame decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous image capture at high frame rates and accumulates light information across multiple frames through temporal addition. By continuously capturing and accumulating image data over time, the system ensures sufficient total light incidence even when individual frames have reduced light exposure due to high frame rate operation
Data Source
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Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
An imaging and processing device includes: an optical element; a single imager with a color filter array of a plurality of colors attached thereto for outputting a value according to an amount of light which has been guided by the optical element and transmitted through the color filter array, thereby enabling to obtain separate images of the plurality of colors for every frame time point; a first adder section for adding together values, associated with a first color of the plurality of colors, of different images obtained over a plurality of frame time points; a second adder section for adding together a plurality of values, associated with a second color of the plurality of colors other than the first color, of an image captured at a single frame time point; and an image restoring section for restoring an image including a plurality of colors at each frame time point from an image based on the first color which has been subjected to the addition by the first adder section, and an image based on the second color which has been subjected to the addition by the second adder section.