Spatio-Spectral Image Analysis for Illumination Separation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current computer vision and image processing technologies face challenges in accurately separating illumination and material aspects of images, which hinders the accuracy of object recognition and optical character recognition.

Innovation Solution

The development of methods and systems that utilize spatio-spectral information to determine intrinsic components of an image, such as illumination and material reflectance, allowing for the generation of analytical information that can be used to match illumination characteristics between different scenes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional image processing methods are used, then processing speed is maintained, but accuracy of separating illumination and material aspects deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of separating illumination and material aspectsVSAvoidcomplexity of image processing system
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the image processing task into distinct functional modules: spatio-spectral analysis module, intrinsic component separation module, and analytical information generation module. This segmentation allows each module to specialize in specific operations, improving the accuracy of illumination and material separation while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular architecture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces spatio-spectral analysis that extends traditional spatial image processing into the spectral dimension. By analyzing images in multiple spectral bands and incorporating spatial relationships, the system achieves superior separation of illumination and material aspects without proportionally increasing system complexity, as the additional dimensional analysis is performed through algorithmic processing rather than additional physical hardware.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Measurement precision

If spatio-spectral information analysis is implemented, then analytical information accuracy is improved, but computational requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of analytical informationVSAvoidcomputational energy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary spatio-spectral analysis on the image data before proceeding to intrinsic component separation. By pre-processing the image to extract spatio-spectral features and organize the data structure, the system reduces the computational burden of subsequent processing steps, thereby lowering overall energy consumption while maintaining high accuracy in the final analytical information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The intrinsic component separation algorithm utilizes self-adaptive processing that automatically adjusts computational effort based on image characteristics. The system identifies regions of interest and focuses computational resources there, while using simplified processing for uniform regions, thereby reducing total energy consumption while preserving accuracy where it matters most.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Adaptability or versatility

If intrinsic component separation is performed, then illumination matching capability is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveillumination matching capabilityVSAvoidimage processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts intrinsic components (illumination and material reflectance) as separate output images from the processing pipeline. This extraction allows the illumination information to be independently manipulated and applied to match different scenes without re-processing the entire image, significantly reducing processing time when performing illumination matching operations while maintaining high adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9330337B2Color analytics for a digital image
Publication Date: 2016.05.03 INNOVATION ASSET COLLECTIVE
  • US9330337B2 patent drawing
  • US9330337B2 patent drawing
  • US9330337B2 patent drawing

AI summary

An automated, computerized method is provided for processing an image. The method includes the steps of providing an image file depicting an image, in a computer memory, determining intrinsic component information as a function of spatio-spectral information for the image, and calculating analytical information, as a function of the intrinsic component information.