Patent · US Active

Systems and methods for noise reduction in high dynamic range imaging

US8346008B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
1References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJun 9, 2009
Grant dateJan 1, 2013
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 30, 2031

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N25/60
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

This is generally directed to systems and methods for noise reduction in high dynamic range (“HDR”) imaging systems. In some embodiments, multiple images of the same scene can be captured, where each of the images is exposed for a different amount of time. An HDR image may be created by suitably combining the images. However, the signal-to-noise ratio (“SNR”) curve of the resulting HDR image can have discontinuities in sections of the SNR curve corresponding to shifts between different exposure times. Accordingly, in some embodiments, a noise model for the HDR image can be created that takes into account these discontinuities in the SNR curve. For example, a noise model can be created that smoothes the discontinuities of the SNR curve into a continuous function. This noise model may then be used with a Bayer Filter or any other suitable noise filter to remove noise from the HDR image.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.