US 11,451,718 B1 · Detecting flicker bands using multi-exposure sensors

Abstract

Alternating Current (AC) light sources can cause images captured using a rolling shutter to include alternating darker and brighter regions—known as flicker bands—due to some sensor rows being exposed to different intensities of light than others. Flicker bands may be compensated for by extracting them from images that are captured using exposures that at least partially overlap in time. Due to the overlap, the images may be subtracted from each other so that scene content substantially cancels out, leaving behind flicker bands. The images may be for a same frame captured by at least one sensor, such as different exposures for a frame. For example, the images used to extract flicker bands may be captured using different exposure times that share a common start time, such as using a multi-exposure sensor where light values are read out at different times during light integration. Two or more images captured for a frame may be used for flicker band extraction, such as the two images that include flicker bands with the greatest phase difference.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

receiving first image data from one or more HDR sensors exposed to one or more light sources over a first time period, the first image data representative of at least some of a first image comprising first flicker bands produced by the one or more light sources;
receiving second image data from the HDR sensors exposed to the one or more light sources over at least the first time period and a second time period that follows the first time period, the second image data representative of at least some of a second image comprising second flicker bands produced by the one or more light sources;
and
determining a configuration of at least one camera parameter using the first image data and the second image data based at least on a first phase difference between the first flicker bands and the second flicker bands being greater than a second phase difference between the first flicker bands and third flicker bands of a third image that was captured using the one or more HDR sensors.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Detecting flicker bands using multi-exposure sensors

Life of this patent

Detecting flicker bands using multi-exposure sensors

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20