Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes: an image sensor configured to capture an image of a subject; an identification information storage unit configured to store a particular subject and a terminal device corresponding to the particular subject; a face detection unit and a face recognition unit configured to detect the particular subject stored in the identification information storage unit in the image captured by the image sensor; and a microcomputer configured to notify, when the face detection unit and the face recognition unit detect the particular subject, the terminal device which is stored in the identification information storage unit and corresponds to the detected particular subject that the particular subject is detected.

Abstract: In a motion picture capturing system for generating a virtual viewpoint image by a plurality of cameras, if image-capturing is performed with timing being shifted to improve frame rate performance, estimation accuracy is deteriorated due to an error in corresponding point detection between images or the presence of a moving subject. The image-capturing timing is controlled such that two or more of a plurality of image-capturing units perform simultaneous image-capturing, and motion of the whole of an image-capturing apparatus is estimated from a plurality of images captured by the simultaneous image-capturing. The virtual viewpoint image is synthesized from the images captured by the simultaneous image-capturing by the plurality of image-capturing units and the estimated motion.

Abstract: A Digital Image Stabilization apparatus and method applies a Principal transform including a rotational motion component to a source frame and interpolates and outputs the image data of each pixel of an entire row of the destination frame in raster order. A first step identification the diagonally oriented meta-rows of source frame data that correspond to the pixels of an entire row of the destination frame, based on the principal transform coefficients. A second step is to horizontalize the source frame data of the meta-rows that correspond to the pixels of an entire row of the destination frame, by storing each meta-row of source frame data into one row of a memory buffer, such as a multi-line buffer. Then, a moving-window interpolation step sequentially interpolates based on the principal transform coefficients and outputs the image data of an entire row of the destination frame in raster order.

Abstract: A camera system, image processing method and computer program stored on a computer readable medium for image processing. Long and short accumulation images with longer and shorter exposure times are respectively obtained from one field. First and second long accumulation evaluation values are computed from the long accumulation image. A short accumulation evaluation value is computed from the short accumulation image. A short accumulation target exposure time and short accumulation exposure control information are acquired from the short accumulation evaluation value and a first target level. A long accumulation evaluation value is acquired by synthesizing the first and second long accumulation evaluation values. Long accumulation exposure control information is acquired from the long accumulation evaluation value and a second target level. An image is generated from the long accumulation image and the short accumulation image.

Abstract: An imaging device includes an imaging unit that images a subject and that continuously creates image data on the subject; a display unit that chronologically displays live view images associated with the image data created by the imaging unit; a face detector that detects the face of a subject included in the live view image; a trimming unit that creates a face image by cutting out, from the live view images, a face area including the face of the subject detected by the face detector; and a display controller that displays the face image created by the trimming unit at a display position specified in a display area of the display unit.

Abstract: An operation device includes a fixed member, an operation member arranged to be manually rotatable, a load section configured to apply a predetermined load to the operation member, a transducer configured to come into friction contact with the load section, a position detecting section configured to detect a relative position of the operation member with respect to the fixed member or the load section, an operation mode setting section, and an operation sense control section configured to control oscillation applied to the load section by the transducer to thereby change a sense of operation obtained from the operation member when the operation member is rotated. The operation sense control section causes, on the basis of an output from the position detecting section, the operation member to generate a sense of click corresponding to the set operation mode.

Abstract: Methods, devices and computer readable media for implementing novel dominant color alleviation techniques for color balancing are described. The techniques take advantage of unique properties of 2D image data histograms accumulated in a chromaticity space, along with other factors such as estimated scene lux and knowledge of plausible scene illuminant white point values within the chromaticity space. The accumulated 2D image data histograms may be refined and “trimmed,” such that the resultant image data passed to an auto white balance solution has much less influence from the dominant colors in the image, even those that overlap the plausible scene illuminant color region. The described techniques provide for white point estimates that are much less prone to dominant color failures.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus acquires a plurality of input images which are serially photographed, detects a plurality of object regions from each input image, and associates object regions in a past input image with object regions in a current input image. If any object region that has not been appropriately associated exists in the object regions detected from the past input image, the apparatus calculates object region movement information for each size of the object region based on the object regions mutually associated between the past input image and the current input image, and estimates a position of the object region of the current input image that has not been associated based on the movement information for each size of the object region and a size of the object region that has not been associated.

Abstract: A solid-state image sensor has a pixel array including pixel units and column signal lines. Each pixel unit includes a photoelectric converter and an amplifier transistor which outputs a signal to the column signal line. The sensor includes a cascode current source which supplies a current to the amplifier transistor and which includes cascode-connected first and second transistors, a first bias circuit which determines a voltage of a first node connected to a gate of the first transistor, and a second bias circuit which determines a voltage of a second node connected to a gate of the second transistor.

Abstract: An image-pickup apparatus includes an image-pickup element including a plurality of image-pickup pixels configured to photoelectrically convert light from an image-pickup lens and to generate an image of an object, and a plurality of focus detection pixels each configured to receive light which has passed through an area of a part of an exit pupil of the image-pickup lens, a flicker correction value generator configured to generate a flicker correction value for correcting a flicker in an image signal output from the image-pickup pixels, and a flicker corrector configured to correct a flicker in a focus detection signal output from the focus detection pixels based on the flicker correction value.

Abstract: An image pickup device may include an image capturing unit that includes a solid-state image pickup device having a plurality of pixels arrayed in a matrix form, the image capturing unit sequentially outputting a plurality of image capturing signals each of which corresponds to one of a plurality of pixel signals output from the solid-state image pickup device, and an evaluation value generating unit to which the plurality of image capturing signals output from the image capturing unit are sequentially input, the evaluation value generating unit generating an evaluation value based on the input image capturing signals. The evaluation value generating unit may include a horizontal decimation unit, a vertical decimation unit, a vertical evaluation value generating unit, and a horizontal evaluation value generating unit.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit configured to capture an image by using a rolling shutter method, a movement detection unit configured to detect a movement amount of the imaging apparatus relative to an object, an in-focus detection unit configured to detect an in-focus degree to the object, a distortion correction unit configured to correct a distortion in the image generated due to the rolling shutter method by changing a reading position of each line in the image, and a control unit configured to determine a correction amount of the distortion generated due to the rolling shutter method from the movement amount detected by the movement detection unit and the in-focus degree detected by the in-focus detection unit.

Abstract: A radial based approach to electro-optic imagers, rather than the conventional rectilinear approach, would have basic overall system design advantages. Those system design advantages would apply to the components and the entire system implementation and include approaches to objective optical design, focal plane array FPA with fill factor, FPA layout and associated read-out integrated circuit ROIC, support electronics architecture and associated memory requirements, image processing IP algorithms, display layout and format, and eyepiece optics. A radial based approach to EO imagers would yield a device/system with attributes requiring less complicated optical components, with potentially fewer elements, for both the objective and eyepiece lenses. In addition, alternative objective optics could be more easily employed, such as holographic or wave front coded, due to reduced complexity of implementing correction algorithms as a result of referencing the system around its optical axis.

Abstract: An arc detecting apparatus includes an input unit that inputs an image; a line-segment detector that detects line segments from the image; a determiner that determines whether two of the line segments are associable with each other, on a basis of positions of the two line segments and angles of the two line segments relative to corresponding references; and an arc detector that detects an arc approximated by at least two line segments including the two line segments, on a basis of the two line segments being associated with each other according to a result of the determination.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image processing apparatus for detecting, from image data generated by an image sensor constituted by a plurality of pixels, a signal from a defective pixel of the image sensor, including first determination means for obtaining a first determination value indicating a magnitude of a difference in signal level between a pixel of interest and a plurality of pixels located in the neighborhood of the pixel of interest, second determination means for obtaining a second determination value indicating a width of distribution of the difference in signal level between the pixel of interest and the plurality of pixels located in the neighborhood of the pixel of interest, and detection means for detecting whether or not the signal from the pixel of interest is a defective pixel signal, using the first determination value and the second determination value.

Abstract: Systems and methods for correcting geometric distortion are provided. In one example, an electronic device may include an imaging device, which may obtain image data of a first resolution, and geometric distortion and scaling logic. The imaging device may include a sensor and a lens that causes some geometric distortion in the image data. The geometric distortion correction and scaling logic may scale and correct for geometric distortion in the image data by determining first pixel coordinates in uncorrected or partially corrected image data that, when resampled, would produce corrected output image data at second pixel coordinates. The geometric distortion correction and scaling logic may resample pixels around the image data at the first pixel coordinates to obtain the corrected output image data at the second pixel coordinates. The corrected output image data may be of a second resolution.

Abstract: A system and method for adjusting count rate information, comprising: acquiring, using at least one detector, static image information from at least one imaged object; acquiring, using the at least one detector, whole body image information from the at least one imaged object; determining, using at least one computer application, the count rate information using the static image information and the whole body image information; and adjusting, using the at least one computer application, the count rate information by accounting for movement between the at least one detector and the at least one imaged object.

Abstract: A multiband camera comprises: a band-pass filter having four or more optical filters; a microlens array having arrayed microlenses; a photoelectric conversion element including a plurality of pixels; and a measurement unit for measuring spectral intensity. The multiband camera satisfies the expression below, where Pl is a pitch between the microlenses, Ps is a pitch between the pixels, n is a number of pixels corresponding to one microlens, u is an effective dimension in a prescribed direction of the pixels, t is a dimension in the prescribed direction of a real image that the band-pass filter forms on a plurality of two-dimensionally arrayed pixels, Na is a number of microlenses arrayed in the prescribed direction, L is a distance from an exit pupil to the microlens, and f is a focal length of the microlens.

Abstract: Embodiments of this invention provide a flash module and an image-capturing apparatus having the flash module. The flash module includes a flash, a base, a solenoid, a linkage bar, a hook, a first elastic member, and a second elastic member. When necessary, the elements of the flash module perform a process to automatically move the flash to an open position.

Abstract: The invention provides an image sensor device. The image sensor device includes a chip package and an opaque coating. The chip package includes an image sensor array chip, wherein a set of optical elements connect to the image sensor array chip, and an outer frame shielding the optical elements. The opaque coating overlies the outer frame.