Mosaic Image Sensor Tag Detection via Sub-Matrix Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing systems, particularly in mobile devices, often lose fine details and require close proximity to decode machine-readable tags due to inherent image resolution reduction and smoothing operations during the conversion of mosaic images to standard color images, making it difficult to identify and decode tags from a distance or under varying lighting conditions.
Innovation Solution
Processing the raw mosaic images separately in their color sub-matrices before de-mosaicking, allowing for enhanced detection and decoding of machine-readable tags by computing variance, identifying candidate areas, and applying binarization thresholds, as well as replicating pixels to create enhanced mosaic images for improved resolution and precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the raw mosaic image is converted to a standard color image using an image signal processor, then the image can be displayed in a visually pleasing format, but the fine details are lost due to resolution reduction and smoothing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image processing workflow into two distinct paths: a first path that processes the mosaic image through the ISP to generate a displayable color image, and a second path that processes the original mosaic image through a tag detection module to detect machine-readable tags. This segmentation allows each path to be optimized for its specific purpose without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs tag detection on the raw mosaic image before any de-mosaicking or smoothing operations are applied. By conducting the detection operation preliminarily on the unprocessed mosaic data, the system preserves fine details and high-frequency information that would otherwise be lost in subsequent processing stages.
2Ease of operation
If the image is processed through de-mosaicking and smoothing operations, then the output image is visually pleasing for display, but it becomes difficult to identify and decode tags from a distance or under varying lighting conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the processing pipeline so that visual quality enhancement and tag detection operate in parallel on separate data streams. The ISP path handles visual quality for display, while the tag detection path processes the original mosaic image to ensure reliable tag identification under various conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a tag detection module as an intermediary component that receives the raw mosaic image directly from the image sensor, bypassing the ISP processing chain. This intermediary ensures that tag detection operates on unprocessed data with maximum information content, independent of the visual processing path.
3Reliability
If close proximity is required to decode machine-readable tags, then tag detection may be more reliable, but the system loses the ability to successfully identify tags from a distance
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs tag detection operations preliminarily on the raw mosaic image before any resolution-reducing processing occurs. This preliminary detection on high-resolution unprocessed data enables reliable tag identification even when the tag appears small in the frame due to distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent processes the mosaic image in its native multi-dimensional color space with separate color channels, rather than converting to a compressed standard color format. This preservation of dimensional information allows for more accurate tag detection at various distances by maintaining fine detail information across multiple color planes.
Data Source
AI summary
Imaging apparatus (28) includes a mosaic image sensor (38), which is configured to capture and output a mosaic image comprising a matrix of pixels that is made up of multiple interleaved sub-matrices, each sub-matrix containing the pixels of a single respective color. Processing circuitry (32) is configured to process the pixels in each of one or more of the sub-matrices separately from the pixels in the other sub-matrices in order to identify in the mosaic image a graphical tag (22) that encodes a digital value in a machine-readable form.