System and method for automatically setting image acquisition controls
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsRudolf M. Bolle, Jonathan H. Connell, Arun Hampapur, Andrew W. Senior
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Abstract
A system and method use computer image processing for setting the parameters for an image acquisition device of a camera. The image parameters are set automatically by analyzing the image to be taken, and setting the controls according to the subject matter, in the same manner as an expert photographer would be able to. The system can run in a fully automatic mode choosing the best image parameters, or a “guided mode” where the user is prompted with choices where a number of alternate settings would be reasonable.
Claims56
A system for automatically setting image acquisition controls of a camera, comprising:
- a temporary image acquisition unit which acquires a temporary image;
- a scene analysis unit which extracts information from said temporary image and generates a scene classification from said extracted information;
- a photographic expert unit which adjusts image capture parameters based on said scene classification;
- and
- a permanent image acquisition unit which acquires a permanent image based on the image capture parameters adjusted by said photographic expert unit.
A computer implemented method for automatically setting image acquisition controls of a camera, said method comprising the steps of:
- acquiring a temporary image;
- extracting at least one of image features and scene components from said temporary image;
- generating a scene classification from said at least one of the extracted image features and scene components;
- adjusting image capture parameters based on the scene classification generated in said generating step;
- and
- acquiring a permanent image based on the image capture parameters adjusted in said adjusting step.
A system for automatically setting image acquisition controls of a camera, comprising:
- a temporary image acquisition unit for acquiring a temporary image;
- a permanent image acquisition unit with controllable image capture parameters for the acquisition of a permanent image;
- a scene analysis unit for receiving input from the temporary image acquisition unit, extracting image features and scene components, and using these to generate a parameterized scene classification;
- and
- a photographic expert unit for receiving said scene classification from the scene analysis unit and generating as an output image capture parameters,
- wherein the photographic expert unit adjusts the image capture parameters of the permanent image acquisition unit based on the scene classification.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.