Iris Color Preservation in Red-Eye Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current red-eye correction methods in digital photography do not effectively account for the true iris color of subjects, resulting in unnatural-looking corrections.
Innovation Solution
The method involves capturing a pre-capture image without the strobe or with a reduced-intensity strobe before the primary image, and using the iris-color information from this image to improve red-eye correction by incorporating it into the correction process, either in the digital imaging device or a separate device like a personal computer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If red pixels in the iris are replaced with predetermined color (e.g., black), then the red-eye effect is corrected, but the iris color information is lost resulting in unnatural appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent captures a pre-capture image before the strobe is activated to obtain iris color information in advance. This preliminary action preserves the natural iris color data that would otherwise be lost during red-eye correction, allowing the correction process to replace only the red pixels while maintaining accurate iris color representation.
2Reliability
If a pre-capture image is captured without strobe before the primary image, then iris color information is preserved for natural-looking correction, but the device complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-capture image is taken immediately before the primary image capture, serving as a preliminary step to obtain iris color information. This timing strategy minimizes the additional time required while ensuring the iris color data is captured under similar lighting conditions, reducing the need for complex color transformation algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies red-eye correction only to specific red pixels within the iris region, rather than processing the entire image. By locally targeting only the affected areas and using the pre-captured iris color information for those specific regions, the processing complexity is reduced while maintaining natural appearance in the corrected areas.
Data Source
AI summary
When using a strobe in capturing a digital image is determined to be imminent, a pre-capture image may be saved from which iris-color information can be derived. The iris-color information derived from the pre-capture image may be used to improve red-eye correction of the captured digital image.