Method and system for modifying image quality

A system for modifying quality of at least one image derived from or addressed to a specified appliance chain, the appliance chain including at least one image-capture appliance selected from a group including a photographic appliance, a video camera, a camera connected to or integrated in a PC, a camera connected to or integrated in a personal digital assistant, a camera connected to or integrated in a telephone, a videoconferencing appliance or of a measuring camera, the appliances belonging to a set of appliances and exhibiting defects characterized by formatted information;

• the system including, for the image, data-processing means for:
• producing formatted information related to an appliance of at least one type by calibrating, among the set of appliances, said appliance, so as to obtain data related to intrinsic characteristics of said appliance;
• compiling directories of sources of formatted information related to the appliances of the set of appliances or to appliances of the same type;
• searching automatically, among the compiled formatted information, for specific formatted information related to the specified appliance chain taking into account formatted information related to said appliance of said at least one type when the specified appliance chain comprises another appliance of said at least one type different from said appliance;
• modifying the image automatically by image-processing software and/or image-processing components, taking into account the searched specific formatted information, based on a determination that the formatted information for all the appliances of the appliance chain have been obtained, the appliance chain including a number of appliances that is not predefined in the data-processing means;
• and
• providing one of the appliances of said appliance chain with at least one variable characteristic depending on the image, a fraction of the specific formatted information being related to the defects of the appliance, the variable characteristic comprising one of:
• a focal length of an optical system, a redimensioning applied to an image, a nonlinear brightness correction, a gamma correction, an enhancement of an image contour, a level of deblurring applied by the one appliance, an image noise characteristic of a sensor or an electronic device, an aperture of an optical system, a focusing distance, a number of frames in a film, an underexposure or overexposure, a sensitivity of a film or sensor, a type of paper used in a printer, a position of a center of a sensor, a rotation of an image relative to a sensor, a position of a projector relative to a screen, a white balance, an activation of a flash, a flash power, an exposure time, a sensor gain, a compression factor, an image contrast, and another image related adjustment, and an adjusted mode of operation,
• the defects of the appliance are related to a characteristic of one of the optical system, the sensor, the electronic device, or software in the appliance,
• the defects of the appliance include at least one of a distortion, a blurring, a vignetting, a chromatic aberration, a rendering of colors, a flash uniformity, a sensor noise, a grain, an astigmatism, or a spherical aberration, and
• the searched specific formatted information include formatted information related to the at least one variable characteristic depending on the image and that are a function of adjustments of an image-capture appliance made in a step of image capture.

A system for modifying quality of at least one image derived from or addressed to a specified appliance chain, the appliance chain including at least one image-capture appliance selected from a group including a photographic appliance, a video camera, a camera connected to or integrated in a PC, a camera connected to or integrated in a personal digital assistant, a camera connected to or integrated in a telephone, a videoconferencing appliance or of a measuring camera, the appliances belonging to a set of appliances and exhibiting defects characterized by formatted information;

• the system including, for the image, data-processing unit configured to
• produce formatted information related to an appliance of at least one type by calibrating, among the set of appliances, said appliance, so as to obtain data related to intrinsic characteristics of said appliance;
• compile directories of sources of formatted information related to the appliances of the set of appliances or to appliances of the same type;
• search automatically, among the compiled formatted information, for specific formatted information related to the specified appliance chain taking into account formatted information related to said appliance of said at least one type when the specified appliance chain comprises another appliance of said at least one type different from said appliance;
• modify the image automatically by image-processing software and/or image-processing components, taking into account the searched specific formatted information, based on a determination that the formatted information for all the appliances of the appliance chain have been obtained, the appliance chain including a number of appliances that is not predefined in the data-processing unit;
• and
• provide one of the appliances of said appliance chain with at least one variable characteristic depending on the image, a fraction of the specific formatted information being related to the defects of the appliance, the variable characteristic comprising one of:
• a focal length of an optical system, a redimensioning applied to an image, a nonlinear brightness correction, a gamma correction, an enhancement of an image contour, a level of deblurring applied by the one appliance, an image noise characteristic of a sensor or an electronic device, an aperture of an optical system, a focusing distance, a number of frames in a film, an underexposure or overexposure, a sensitivity of a film or sensor, a type of paper used in a printer, a position of a center of a sensor, a rotation of an image relative to a sensor, a position of a projector relative to a screen, a white balance, an activation of a flash, a flash power, an exposure time, a sensor gain, a compression factor, an image contrast, and another image related adjustment, and an adjusted mode of operation,
• the defects of the appliance are related to a characteristic of one of the optical system, the sensor, the electronic device, or software in the appliance,
• the defects of the appliance include at least one of a distortion, a blurring, a vignetting, a chromatic aberration, a rendering of colors, a flash uniformity, a sensor noise, a grain, an astigmatism, or a spherical aberration, and
• the searched specific formatted information include formatted information related to the at least one variable characteristic depending on the image and that are a function of adjustments of an image-capture appliance made in a step of image capture.