Image Processing Apparatus RTS Noise Direction Determination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current image processing technologies face challenges in accurately determining the direction of pixel values for image data affected by blinking defective noise, such as RTS noise, which varies within a certain range, leading to suboptimal noise reduction in image sensors like CMOS.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that includes an acquisition unit for noise information, a direction determination unit to calculate the direction of highest correlation among neighboring pixel values, and an image processor to perform noise reduction based on this determination, effectively addressing the issue of RTS noise in image data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional noise reduction processing is applied to image data with blinking defective noise, then general noise is reduced, but direction determination becomes inaccurate due to varying pixel values
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing noise information acquisition and direction determination before final image processing. The system identifies pixels with blinking defective noise and determines the direction of correlated pixel values in advance, allowing the subsequent image processing to account for these variations and maintain accuracy despite the noise.
2Productivity
If image processing is performed on pixels with blinking defective noise, then processing speed is maintained, but image quality deteriorates due to inaccurate direction determination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by treating pixels with blinking defective noise differently from normal pixels. The system identifies specific pixels exhibiting blinking noise characteristics and applies targeted direction determination and noise reduction processing only to these affected pixels, while maintaining standard processing for other pixels, thus preserving overall processing speed while improving local image quality.
3Device complexity
If noise reduction processing is applied without accurate direction determination, then processing complexity is reduced, but noise reduction effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the image processing into distinct stages: noise information acquisition, direction determination based on neighboring pixels, and targeted noise reduction processing. This segmented approach maintains manageable processing complexity while significantly improving noise reduction effectiveness by ensuring that direction determination accurately reflects the true image structure despite blinking noise interference.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus performs image processing on image data including blinking defective noise generated by an image sensor including pixels configured to generate a signal, and readout circuits configured to read out the signal as a pixel value. The image processing apparatus includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire noise information including position information of a pixel in which there is a possibility that blinking defective noise attributed to the readout circuit occurs; a direction determination unit configured to determine, based on the noise information, and pixel values of neighboring pixels surrounding a pixel of interest in an image corresponding to the image data, a direction in which pixel values having highest correlation with a pixel value of the pixel of interest are consecutively arrayed; and an image processor configured to perform image processing on the image data based on a determination result.