Dual processing of raw image data

An electronic device comprising:

• an image capture device configured to output frames of raw image data;
• a first processor configured to receive and analyze one or more of the frames of raw image data to enable determination of one or more image processing parameters;
• and
• a second processor configured to receive the one or more of the frames of raw image data in parallel with the first processor and to process the one or more frames of raw image data based at least in part on the one or more image processing parameters, wherein the one or more image processing parameters are determined using the first processor, the second processor, or other data processing circuitry associated with the first processor or the second processor, or any combination thereof based at least in part on the analysis of the one or more frames of raw image data by the first processor.

A method comprising:

• sending a frame of raw image data from an image capture device in parallel to a hardware image processing pipeline and to a buffer accessible to software;
• analyzing the frame of raw image data sent to the buffer using the software;
• determining one or more control parameters for an initial image processing stage of the hardware image processing pipeline based at least in part on the analysis of the frame of raw image data in the buffer using firmware associated with the hardware image processing pipeline;
• feeding forward the one or more control parameters to the initial image processing stage of the hardware image processing pipeline;
• and
• processing the frame of raw image data sent to the hardware image processing pipeline using the hardware image processing pipeline based at least in part on the one or more control parameters.

A method comprising:

• receiving, both in a hardware image processing pipeline and in alternative image processing, a frame of raw image data from an image capture device;
• analyzing the raw image data using the alternative image processing to determine defective pixels of the image capture device;
• when new defective pixels are detected, updating a mapping of the defective pixels of the image capture device to include the new defective pixels using the alternative image processing, the hardware image processing pipeline, or firmware associated with the hardware image processing pipeline, or a combination thereof;
• and
• processing the frame of raw image data using the hardware image processing pipeline based at least in part on the updated mapping of the defective pixels of the image capture device.

A system comprising:

• an image capture device configured to output raw image data;
• a hardware image processing pipeline configured to process a first copy of a frame of the raw image data to obtain a first processed image;
• memory configured to store a second copy of the frame of raw image data while the frame of raw image data is being processed by the main image processing;
• and
• data processing circuitry configured to determine whether the first processed image is satisfactory and to process the second copy of the frame of the raw image data using image processing software when the first processed image is determined to be unsatisfactory.