Parallelized Image Warping for Low-Cost Distortion Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Projection-based displays suffer from image distortion due to off-axis projection, surface geometry, and defects in projection optics, which existing technologies struggle to correct efficiently without incurring high costs from using high-performance processors.
Innovation Solution
A parallelized digital image warping apparatus that partitions source images into smaller portions, pre-distorts them using lower-cost processors operating at slower clocks, and combines the pre-distorted portions to produce a distortion-free image, utilizing a parser, warping engines, and a combiner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a high-performance processor is used to correct image distortion efficiently, then image distortion correction quality is improved, but processing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The source image is divided into multiple smaller image portions (e.g., quadrants) that can be processed independently by separate warping engines. This segmentation allows the use of multiple lower-cost processors instead of a single high-performance processor, maintaining correction quality while reducing individual processor requirements and overall system cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The image portions are pre-processed and pre-distorted before being combined into the final corrected image. This preliminary action allows each warping engine to work on smaller, pre-divided portions with reduced complexity requirements, enabling the use of lower-cost processors while achieving the same overall correction quality.
2Productivity
If the processor clock rate is increased to process images faster, then processing speed is improved, but power consumption and heat generation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The image processing task is segmented into multiple parallel warping engines that operate at lower clock rates. By dividing the workload across multiple engines processing smaller image portions simultaneously, the system achieves high overall processing speed without requiring each individual engine to operate at high power-consuming clock rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing is organized into periodic cycles where multiple warping engines process different image portions in parallel. This periodic parallel processing allows the system to maintain high throughput while each engine operates at a lower, more energy-efficient clock rate.
3Productivity
If the processor clock rate is increased to process images faster, then processing speed is improved, but heat generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The processing workload is segmented across multiple warping engines operating in parallel at moderate clock rates. This distribution of computational load prevents any single processor from generating excessive heat, while the combined output of all engines achieves the required processing speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically distributes image processing across multiple warping engines, allowing each engine to operate at a stable, moderate clock rate that generates less heat. The parallel architecture ensures that processing speed requirements are met without concentrating thermal load in a single high-performance processor.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a parser configured to decimate a source image to produce a decimated image according to a pre-distortion geometry for the source image, and partition the decimated image into image portions according to a first clock rate. The apparatus includes warping engines coupled to the parser and configured to pre-distort, according to a second clock rate, respective image portions to produce respective pre-distorted image portions according to the pre-distortion geometry. The apparatus also includes a combiner coupled to the warping engines and configured to combine the pre-distorted image portions, according to the first clock rate, to form a pre-distorted image of the source image. The apparatus further includes a processor configured to process the pre-distorted image to produce a processed image for projection by a light modulator and one or more light sources.