Signal Processing for Blinking Targets in High-Contrast Scenes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies fail to reliably image LED traffic signals and road signs with high response speed in scenes with large brightness differences, such as at the exit of a tunnel, due to flicker issues and dynamic range limitations.
Innovation Solution
A signal processing apparatus and method that detects differences between images captured with varying exposure times, calculates combination coefficients, and combines these images to effectively handle high-speed blinking targets, ensuring accurate imaging by minimizing exposure time gaps and blending maximum pixel values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If images are captured with different exposure times to handle large brightness differences, then dynamic range is improved, but blinking targets may be missed due to exposure timing mismatches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the exposure times of multiple images adjustable and adaptable rather than fixed. The system dynamically selects exposure times from a plurality of different exposure times based on scene requirements, allowing the imaging system to flexibly respond to varying brightness conditions while maintaining reliable detection of blinking targets through optimized exposure timing.
2Illumination intensity
If exposure time is increased to capture dark areas, then visibility in dark regions is improved, but blinking targets become indistinct due to motion blur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the imaging process by capturing multiple images with different exposure times rather than using a single long exposure. This segmentation allows the system to process and combine images selectively, using shorter exposure images for blinking targets to avoid blur while using longer exposure images for dark regions to improve visibility, thereby resolving the contradiction between visibility and clarity.
3Reliability
If multiple images with different exposure times are combined, then image quality in varying brightness is improved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by systematically varying exposure times as the key parameter across multiple images. By changing this single parameter (exposure time) while keeping other imaging parameters consistent, the system simplifies the combination process compared to handling multiple varying parameters, thus improving image quality in varying brightness conditions while controlling processing complexity through focused parameter optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
The present technology relates to a signal processing apparatus, an imaging apparatus, and a signal processing method capable of reliably imaging a blinking imaging target in a scene having a very large difference in brightness. By detecting a difference between a plurality of images captured with different exposure times, calculating a combination coefficient indicating a combination ratio between the plurality of images on the basis of the difference, and combining the plurality of images on the basis of the combination coefficient, it is possible to reliably image a blinking imaging target in a scene having a very large difference in brightness. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a camera unit that captures an image.