Whiteboard Image Enhancement with Motion Masks and Blending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing remote meeting solutions struggle to provide clear and high-quality images of whiteboards due to noise, lighting effects, keystone issues, and obstruction by participants, especially when multiple people are present, making it difficult for remote participants to read the content effectively.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus and method that uses a camera to capture high-resolution video of a whiteboard, applies keystone correction, identifies and removes motion using motion masks, and enhances image quality through blending, ensuring clear transmission of the whiteboard content to remote participants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single camera is used to display the meeting room, then the system complexity is low, but the image quality and readability of the whiteboard content is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the whiteboard image processing into multiple correction stages: first corrected image generation, binary mask creation, motion region extraction, and blending. This multi-stage segmentation allows each processing step to focus on specific improvements, achieving high readability without requiring additional dedicated cameras.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary keystone correction and motion detection before final image generation. By pre-identifying motion regions and creating binary masks in advance, the system prepares the image data for optimal blending, ensuring high readability is achieved through proactive preprocessing rather than reactive adjustments.
2Measurement precision
If image correction processing is applied to improve whiteboard readability, then the content clarity is enhanced, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively processing only the necessary image components. It generates a binary mask to identify motion regions, then extracts only those regions for special handling while blending the rest of the image more simply. This selective processing maintains content clarity while reducing overall computational burden compared to full-image processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action through frame-by-frame processing with motion detection. By periodically analyzing motion regions and updating binary masks for each frame, the system maintains clear content representation dynamically without continuous heavy processing, balancing clarity with processing efficiency in real-time video streams.
3Measurement precision
If motion regions are extracted and processed separately, then the readability of obscured content is improved, but the device complexity and processing steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts motion regions from the full image by generating binary masks that isolate areas with motion. This extraction allows the system to separately process obscured content regions while leaving the rest of the image intact, improving readability of partially blocked whiteboard content without requiring complex reconstruction of entire frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces binary masks as an intermediary element between the original image and the final corrected output. These masks serve as mediators that guide the blending process by indicating which regions require special handling due to motion. This intermediary approach simplifies the overall system complexity by providing a clear, structured method for selective processing.
4Measurement precision
If blending processing is performed to combine corrected images, then the final image quality is enhanced, but the processing time and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial blending by combining the first corrected image with the third corrected image only in regions identified by the binary mask. Rather than performing full-image blending, it focuses computational resources on blending only the necessary motion-affected regions, thereby enhancing final image quality while minimizing processing time and computational overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus is provided and is configured to generate a second corrected image by using an average first corrected images, extracting one or more regions of the average first corrected images indicative of motion in the exacted image data; combining the extracted one or more regions with the first corrected image; generate a binary mask of the second corrected image, the binary mask having a region indicative of motion replaced using an average of a predetermined number of binary masks; generate a filtered image based on the binary mask of the second corrected image and the second corrected image; generate a third corrected image by performing second image correction processing on the filtered image; and perform blending processing that combines the third corrected image with the first corrected image to generate a final corrected image.