Sky Region Suppression in Imaging Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional imaging systems fail to reliably suppress the sky region in images, as it often consumes a large portion of the dynamic range, making it difficult to discern terrestrial objects due to non-uniform sky conditions and varying atmospheric properties.
Innovation Solution
A method to identify the sky region in images based on the horizon location, analyze the distribution of irradiance levels, and apply a transfer function to compress the dynamic range, thereby reducing the sky's impact on the available dynamic range and preserving it for terrestrial objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional imaging systems capture the sky region, then the image contains complete scene information, but the sky consumes a large portion of the dynamic range making terrestrial objects difficult to discern
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates the sky region from the terrestrial region by first identifying the horizon line, then dividing the image into sky and ground portions. This extraction allows independent processing of each region, enabling the sky to be suppressed while preserving terrestrial object information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different processing qualities to different regions of the image. The sky region is processed with compression and suppression operations, while the terrestrial region maintains its full dynamic range. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by treating each region according to its specific needs.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the sky region is suppressed by compressing its dynamic range, then terrestrial objects become more visible, but the sky's non-uniform conditions and atmospheric variations make reliable suppression difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image into distinct sky and terrestrial regions based on horizon detection. This segmentation allows the application of compression only to the sky region, isolating the suppression operation from the terrestrial objects and improving reliability by preventing unintended effects on the ground region.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary horizon detection and sky region identification before applying the compression transfer function. This preliminary action ensures that the compression is applied only to the correctly identified sky region, improving reliability by preventing errors in region selection.
3Quantity of substance
If a transfer function is applied to compress the sky's dynamic range, then the available dynamic range for terrestrial objects is preserved, but the complexity of image processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the compression transfer function locally only to the sky region rather than the entire image. This localized application preserves the available dynamic range for terrestrial objects while minimizing the processing complexity by limiting operations to only the necessary sky portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the image processing into distinct stages: horizon detection, sky region identification, and selective compression application. This segmentation manages complexity by breaking down the overall processing task into manageable, sequential operations that can be implemented efficiently.
Data Source
AI summary
Various techniques are provided for systems and methods to process images to reduce consumption of an available output dynamic range by the sky in images. For example, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a region or area in images that may correspond to the sky may be identified based on the location of the horizon in the images. A distribution of irradiance levels in the identified sky region may be analyzed to determine a dynamic range attributable to the sky region. A transfer function that compresses the dynamic range attributable to the sky region may be generated and applied so that the sky in the images may be suppressed, thereby advantageously preserving more dynamic range for terrestrial objects and other objects of interest in the images.