Bit depth reduction techniques for low complexity image patch matching

An apparatus comprising:

• a. an image acquisition component for acquiring an image;
• b. a memory for storing an application, the application for:
• i. generating a transformed, reduced bit-depth image of the image;
• ii. computing a local mean for each pixel by averaging pixel values within a local window around a current pixel;
• iii. determining a leading bit position using the local mean;
• and
• iv. selecting the n bits for the current pixel, wherein the n bits are the ones starting from and following the leading bit position;
• and
• c. a processing component coupled to the memory, the processing component configured for processing the application.

A method of bit-depth reduction programmed in a memory of a device comprising:

• a. selecting a search window for each target patch;
• b. computing a local mean using a local window around the target patch;
• c. determining a leading bit from the local mean for each target patch;
• and
• d. transforming the search window into a low bit-depth window by choosing n bits from each pixel in the search window, wherein the n bits are the ones starting from and following the leading bit position.

An apparatus comprising:

• a. an image acquisition component for acquiring an image;
• b. a memory for storing an application, the application for:
• i. selecting a search window from the image for each target patch;
• ii. computing a local mean by averaging pixel values within a local window around the target patch;
• iii. determining a leading bit position using the local mean;
• and
• iv. transforming the search window into a low bit-depth window by choosing n bits from each pixel in the search window, wherein the n bits are the ones starting from and following the leading bit position;
• and
• c. a processing component coupled to the memory, the processing component configured for processing the application.