Mobile Image Motion Blur Using Sensor-Driven Blur Kernels

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for adding motion blur to images on mobile devices lack interactivity and control over the blur effect, limiting the ability to dynamically adjust blur direction and intensity based on device motion and user preferences.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for mobile devices that utilize sensor data to measure device motion and apply blur effects interactively, combining metadata and device motion to control the direction and intensity of blur on images, allowing users to selectively blur foreground or background elements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Illumination intensity

If motion blur is applied to moving objects in a scene, then the visual effect of motion is enhanced, but the processing time and computational resources required increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual effect qualityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-calculates and stores motion blur parameters for objects based on their motion characteristics before rendering the final scene. By preparing motion blur data in advance during object processing, the system avoids computationally intensive calculations during the final rendering stage, thus reducing processing time while maintaining visual quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The motion blur processing is divided into separate stages: first processing individual objects independently to extract motion parameters, then applying blur effects during composition. This segmentation allows parallel processing of multiple objects and optimizes the rendering pipeline efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Illumination intensity

If motion blur is applied to all objects in a scene, then the overall motion effect is improved, but the computational complexity and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemotion effect qualityVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies motion blur selectively based on local characteristics of each object. Motion parameters such as velocity, acceleration, and direction are calculated individually for each object, allowing the blur effect to be applied only where motion is detected. This avoids unnecessary processing of static or minimally moving objects, reducing overall computational complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies motion blur at appropriate levels of detail based on object importance and motion significance. For objects with minimal motion or low visual importance, reduced blur processing is applied, while objects with significant motion receive full processing. This partial action approach optimizes the balance between visual quality and processing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Measurement precision

If motion parameters are calculated for each object individually, then the accuracy of motion blur is improved, but the processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemotion parameter accuracyVSAvoidcalculation time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Motion parameters for each object are pre-calculated during the object processing stage before final scene composition. By extracting velocity, acceleration, and direction data in advance, the system achieves accurate motion characterization without performing time-consuming calculations during the critical rendering phase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system maintains continuous tracking of object motion parameters throughout the animation sequence, updating blur parameters incrementally as objects move between frames. This continuous action approach preserves motion accuracy while avoiding redundant calculations by building upon previous frame data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentEP4449341B1Interactive motion blur on mobile devices
Publication Date: 2026.05.20 DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORP
  • EP4449341B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4449341B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4449341B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

Novel methods and systems are described for providing interactive motion blur on an image by motion inputs from movements of the mobile device displaying the image. The device can process the motion blur by modules providing motion blur parameter estimation, blur application, and image composition based on metadata and a baseline image from the encoder. A pre-loaded filter bank can provide blur kernels for blur application.