Intelligent Sensor Switching for Image Capture Latency Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image capture devices with two image sensors face latency issues when switching between sensors, as the camera controls converge before stabilizing the image, leading to reduced run times and increased processing power requirements.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an intelligent switching mechanism that uses an image signal processor to process frames from both sensors at different frame rates, allowing for seamless switching without sacrificing run times by adapting camera controls in advance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the image capture device streams from both sensors and launches camera controls for both sensors, then the latency during sensor switch is reduced, but the processing power requirement increases substantially and run times are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the second image sensor capture frames and perform partial processing to obtain camera control statistics before the actual sensor switch occurs. This advance preparation ensures that when the switch happens, all necessary control data is already available, eliminating latency without requiring both sensors to be fully processed simultaneously, thus reducing the processing power burden.
2Loss of time
If the image capture device streams from both sensors and launches camera controls for both sensors, then the latency during sensor switch is reduced, but the run times are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by preparing camera control statistics from the second sensor in advance before the switch occurs. This ensures that when switching sensors, the system can immediately continue recording without waiting for control convergence, thereby reducing latency while maintaining normal run times through efficient single-sensor processing during recording.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the camera controls converge before having a stable image during sensor switch, then the image stability is improved, but the latency during switching increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by performing preliminary processing of the second sensor's frames to obtain camera control statistics before the switch occurs. This advance preparation ensures that control convergence has already happened in the background, so when the switch occurs, the image is immediately stable without any additional latency for control convergence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by obtaining camera control statistics from partially processed frames of the second sensor before switching. These statistics are essentially a copy or representation of the control data that will be needed, allowing the system to prepare control convergence in advance without affecting the main recording stream's stability or timing.
Data Source
AI summary
An image capture device may process first frames from a first image sensor obtained at a first frame rate and store the processed first frames in a memory. The image capture device may obtain first camera control statistics based at least on partially processed second frames from a second image sensor obtained at a second frame rate. The image capture device may switch a capture mode to obtain third frames at the second frame rate from the first image sensor and to obtain fourth frames at the first frame rate from the second image sensor.