Line Camera Brightness and Color Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional line cameras face challenges in recording color image data with high resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, especially in applications requiring fast frame rates and high resolution, as color information is often obtained at the expense of performance, and existing solutions for brightness and color correction are either time-consuming or inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A method for brightness and color correction in line cameras using a line-shaped image sensor with multiple line arrays, where a gray-scale image and single-color images are recorded, and a brightness function is used to correct both mono and color channels, allowing for simultaneous high-resolution gray-scale and color image capture without compromising signal-to-noise ratio.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If color filters are used in line camera pixels to capture color information, then color detection capability is improved, but signal-to-noise ratio and resolution deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The image sensor is divided into multiple line arrays, where some lines capture grayscale images with full resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio, while other lines capture single-color images for color information. This segmentation allows each line to be optimized for its specific function, resolving the contradiction between color detection and image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the image sensor have different functional qualities - grayscale lines are optimized for high-resolution imaging while color lines are optimized for spectral detection. This local differentiation allows the system to achieve both high-quality grayscale imaging and color detection without compromising either function.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional color line cameras are used to capture color information, then color detection is improved, but image resolution and contrast deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is segmented into dedicated grayscale lines and color lines. The grayscale lines capture high-resolution, high-contrast images without color filter interference, while color lines provide spectral information. This segmentation eliminates the resolution degradation that occurs when all pixels use color filters.
Solution Approach 2:
The grayscale lines act as an intermediary that captures the full-resolution structural information of the image, while color lines capture spectral characteristics. The combination of these two intermediate measurements produces the final color image with high resolution and accurate color information.
3Stability of the object's composition
If brightness correction is performed using integrated illumination measurement, then illumination uniformity is improved, but calibration effort and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The brightness function is determined and stored in the illumination module during manufacturing or initial setup, before actual image capture begins. This preliminary calibration eliminates the need for time-consuming on-site teaching-in procedures, while still achieving accurate illumination correction during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The illumination module stores its own brightness function characteristics and automatically applies correction during image capture without requiring external calibration equipment or procedures. The system self-corrects for illumination non-uniformity using pre-stored correction data.
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
Enables the detection of high-contrast gray-scale images with full resolution and additional color information that can be used for various evaluations, without affecting the resolution or signal-to-noise ratio of the gray-scale image, and simplifies calibration by decoupling the illumination module from the camera.
Implementation Method 1
Image data of an object is detected with a line camera (10)
Implementation Method 2
While a line-shaped illumination module illuminates a detection area of the line camera
Data Source
AI summary
A method for brightness and color correction of image data of a line camera is disclosed, wherein, for the detecting of image data with at least two line arrays of the line camera while illuminating a detection area of the line camera with an illumination module, a gray-scale image and at least two single-color images are recorded, and the image data is corrected with the help of a brightness function of the illumination module which is dependent on a line position of the line array and/or a distance of recorded objects. The brightness function is determined for the illumination module in advance and independent of the line camera and is stored in the illumination module, and the brightness function is read out by the line camera and used for the respective correction of the gray-scale image and the single-color images.