Information Processing Apparatus for User-Environment Color Calibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulty in accurately determining the original color of products from displayed images, especially in online shopping, due to unknown capture environments and color alterations like retouching, making it complicated to use color charts and monitor profiles.
Innovation Solution
A system that calculates the true color value of an object in a user's environment using a model based on a known color object, allowing for accurate color comparison and presentation through a mobile terminal and server system, eliminating the need for special equipment like color charts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If color charts and monitor profiles are used to obtain accurate color values, then color measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the color calibration function from complex physical equipment (color charts, monitor profiles) and transfers it to digital data stored in a database. The system captures an image of a color chart once, extracts color information, and stores it as reference data. This eliminates the need for physical color charts during subsequent measurements, reducing device complexity while maintaining measurement precision through digital reference comparison.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy of the color chart by capturing its image and storing color information in a database. This digital replica serves as the reference standard for all subsequent color measurements, replacing the need for physical color charts and complex monitor profile configurations. The digital copy can be easily stored, transmitted, and reused without degradation.
2Measurement precision
If color charts and monitor profiles are used to obtain accurate color values, then color measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary color calibration by capturing an image of the color chart and storing the color information in a database before actual product measurements are needed. This pre-processing step creates ready-to-use reference data, so that subsequent color measurements can be performed by simply comparing product images against the stored reference, greatly simplifying the operation for end users while maintaining high precision.
3Ease of operation
If original product images are used for color evaluation, then ease of operation is improved, but color accuracy deteriorates due to unknown capture environment and retouching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a standardized color chart as an intermediary reference object that is captured alongside or instead of the product. The color chart provides known reference colors that are stored in a database. When evaluating product colors, the system compares the product image colors against these reference colors from the color chart, thereby eliminating the need to know the exact capture environment conditions while maintaining color accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an information processing apparatus that calculates a true value of a color of an object shown in a second image obtained by image capture in a user environment, on the basis of a model. Further, the model is created on the basis of a first image obtained by image capture, in the user environment, of an object having a known true value of a color, and represents a correspondence between a color space in the user environment and a color space of the known true value of the color.