Multi-image sharpening and denoising using lucky imaging
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsNeel Suresh Joshi, Michael F. Cohen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The multi-image sharpening and denoising technique described herein creates a clean (low-noise, high contrast), detailed image of a scene from a temporal series of images of the scene. The technique employs a process of image alignment to remove global and local camera motion plus a novel weighted image averaging procedure that avoids sacrificing sharpness to create a resultant high-detail, low-noise image from the temporal series. In addition, the multi-image sharpening and denoising technique can employ a dehazing procedure that uses a spatially varying airlight model to dehaze an input image.
Claims20
A computer-implemented process for creating an improved image of objects in the distance from multiple images of the same scene, comprising:
- using a computing device for:
- inputting multiple images of a scene,
- performing a global translational alignment of each input image to a single image of the input multiple images of the scene;
- averaging the pixels of each the resulting globally aligned images to create a globally aligned average image;
- computing a local alignment of each resulting globally aligned image by computing a pixel-wise optical flow to the globally aligned average image initialized by the resulting globally aligned image for each input image;
- for each pixel location, for each globally and locally aligned image, determining a normalized pixel-wise weight for each corresponding pixel in each image;
- and
- creating a weighted average image from the set of normalized pixel-wise weights and the resulting globally and locally aligned images.
A computer-implemented process for creating an improved image from a multiple images of the same scene, comprising:
- using a computing device for:
- inputting multiple images of a scene,
- performing a global translational alignment of each image to a single image of the input multiple images;
- averaging the pixels of each the resulting globally aligned images to create a globally aligned average image;
- for each pixel location, for each global alignment result of each image, determining a normalized pixel-wise weight for each corresponding pixel in each image;
- and
- creating a weighted average image from the set of normalized pixel-wise weights and the resulting globally aligned images.
A system for dehazing an image using an air light model, comprising:
- a general purpose computing device;
- a computer program comprising program modules executable by the general purpose computing device, wherein the computing device is directed by the program modules of the computer program to,
- input an image;
- compute an air light color by using a spatially varying air light model;
- and
- dehaze the input image by subtracting the air light computed by using the spatially varying air light model from the input image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.