Panoramic Exposure Control via Scene Sweep Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cameras used for taking component photographs for panoramic stitching often result in improper exposure or focus due to reliance on settings determined from a single photograph, which may not represent the entire scene, leading to overexposure or unfocused images in panoramic photographs.
Innovation Solution
A digital camera system that uses preliminary digital images of the panoramic scene to determine exposure and focus settings by sweeping across the scene, analyzing pixel values and histograms to compute average brightness and focus settings, ensuring consistent settings for all component photographs, and optionally using image stabilization to account for camera motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If exposure settings are determined from only the first photograph in the sequence, then the camera operation is simple and fast, but the exposure accuracy for the entire panoramic scene deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The camera performs preliminary actions by determining exposure settings from the first photograph, then applies those same settings to all subsequent photographs in the sequence. This preliminary determination simplifies the operation while maintaining consistent exposure across the panorama, resolving the contradiction between operational simplicity and exposure accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the camera uses a limited field of view to take component photographs, then the camera design is simple, but the ability to capture representative scene information for exposure determination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The panoramic scene is segmented into multiple component photographs taken with a conventional limited field of view camera. The camera captures the entire scene by taking sequential photographs that are later stitched together, allowing simple camera design while achieving comprehensive scene coverage through multiple images.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple component photographs with limited field of view are merged through digital stitching to create a comprehensive panoramic image. This combining process achieves full scene coverage and representative exposure information without requiring a complex camera with wide field of view.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is disclosed for achieving correct exposure, focus, or both in a panoramic photograph that is stitched together from component photographs. In one example embodiment, a camera user sweeps the camera across the scene to be photographed, at least two measurements of scene portion brightness are made during the sweep, the brightness measurements are combined, and camera exposure settings are chosen based on the combination.