Negative Shutter Lag Capture via Dual-Domain Frame Transformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Always-on (AON) camera systems in mobile devices face challenges in balancing power consumption with image and video capture quality, leading to reduced battery life due to high power usage during continuous recording, especially when capturing unexpected events before the user can initiate recording.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a negative shutter lag technique by capturing frames in a lower power settings domain before and after a capture input, using a keyframe to transform and upscale frames to a higher settings domain, allowing for efficient power management and improved capture quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If AON camera captures continuous frames at high settings domain, then image and video capture quality is improved, but power consumption increases significantly reducing battery life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the frame capture process into two distinct domains: a lower power settings domain for continuous AON operation and a higher power settings domain for final output. By capturing frames at lower resolution/settings during AON mode and only processing selected frames to the higher settings domain, the system achieves quality improvement without sustained high power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system periodically captures frames at the lower power settings domain during AON operation, then selectively transforms specific frames (such as keyframes or frames containing significant events) to the higher settings domain. This periodic transformation approach maintains battery life while ensuring high quality output when needed.
2Reliability
If AON camera operates continuously to capture unexpected events, then capture reliability is improved, but battery life is reduced due to high power usage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by capturing frames continuously at the lower power settings domain before a capture event occurs. This allows the system to be ready to capture unexpected events reliably while consuming minimal power during the AON period, thereby extending battery life without sacrificing capture reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operating parameters by switching between two settings domains. During AON operation, it uses the lower power settings domain with reduced resolution and processing requirements. Upon detecting a capture event, it transitions to the higher power settings domain for final frame transformation and output, optimizing both reliability and battery life.
3Manufacturing precision
If frames are transformed from lower power settings domain to higher settings domain, then output quality is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary frames from the continuous AON capture stream for transformation to the higher settings domain. Instead of transforming all captured frames, it selectively identifies and transforms only those frames that contain significant content or meet specific criteria, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining output quality for important moments.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques are provided for processing one or more frames. For example, a process can include obtaining a first plurality of frames associated with a first settings domain from an image capture system, wherein the first plurality of frames is captured prior to obtaining a capture input. The process can include obtaining a reference frame associated with a second settings domain from the image capture system, wherein the reference frame is captured proximate to obtaining the capture input. The process can include obtaining a second plurality of frames associated with the second settings domain from the image capture system, wherein the second plurality of frames is captured after the reference frame. The process can include, based on the reference frame, transforming at least a portion of the first plurality of frames to generate a transformed plurality of frames associated with the second settings domain.