Alignment of digital images and local motion detection for high dynamic range (HDR) imaging
US8478076B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 12, 2011 |
| Grant date | Jul 2, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N23/741
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Image alignment operations particular suited for High Dynamic Range (HDR) image generation are described. Image pyramids may be generated using reference and source images. Difference bitmaps, based on a number of pixel shift combinations in the x and y directions, can be divided into tiles and analyzed and, for each pyramid level, an optimal shift direction determined. The tiles can then be pruned using a threshold such that only those tiles contributing up to the threshold are projected to a subsequent pyramid level. The alignment vector for each level can be aggregated to determine a final alignment vector which can be used to shift the source image. This process may be repeated for another source image, and the two source images and reference image, once aligned, may be merged to generate an HDR image.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.