Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus to blend a high dynamic range (HDR) image or a plurality of images captured with different exposure settings to multiple images, and a method thereof. A multiple image blender receives a high dynamic range (HDR) image or a plurality of images captured with different exposure settings, and controls setting of one or more areas of interest or setting of one or more gradation levels, and combines and blends the HDR image or the plurality of images captured with different exposure settings corresponding to each area of interest or at each gradation level, and generates at least one multi-exposure image.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus and method are provided. In an exemplary method, noise of a main image signal is removed or reduced, using information about a subsidiary image signal with sensitivity higher than the main image signal or information about the main image signal, and details of the main image signal are restored using high-frequency components of the subsidiary image signal.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus and method for generating high-sensitive, high-brightness color images are disclosed. A second image having a wider band and higher-sensitivity than those of a first image which includes color information may be acquired, wherein the first and second images are images captured from a scene. A first transformed image having high brightness may be generated by performing binning on the first image, and edge information being a high-frequency component may be extracted from the second image. A high-brightness, high-sensitive color image may be generated using the first transformed image and the edge information.

Abstract: An image obtaining method and apparatus are provided. The method of obtaining an image by an image obtaining apparatus includes calculating entropy of an input image, determining an optimal exposure time at which the entropy reaches a maximum value, and obtaining an image based on the determined optimal exposure time.

Abstract: Provided are an image composition apparatus for composing color images with black-and-white images including infrared components, and an image composition method thereof. The image composition method includes generating a first image signal with color information and a second image signal including infrared components without color information, dividing the first image signal into a brightness signal and a color signal, composing the brightness signal of the first image signal with a brightness signal of the second image signal to generate a composed brightness signal, and composing the composed brightness signal with the color signal of the first image signal to generate a color image.

Abstract: A CMOS image sensor is provided. The CMOS image sensor includes a photodiode receiving light and generating photocharges, a transfer transistor connected to the photodiode and transferring the photocharges, a floating diffusion accumulating the photocharges transferred from the transfer transistor, a reset transistor discharging the photocharges accumulated in the floating diffusion, and a merge gate transistor controlling capacitance of the floating diffusion. The CMOS image sensor may obtain a wide dynamic range signal without an increase in size of a pixel.

Abstract: A system and a method for acquiring a moving image are provided. The system includes an image capturing unit capturing two images having different exposure times at a predetermined time slot, an image storing unit storing at least one of two images which were captured at a time slot previous to the predetermined time slot and which have different exposure times, an output image generating unit generating an output image by synthesizing the two images captured at the predetermined time slot or by synthesizing any one of the two images captured at the predetermined time slot and any one of the two images captured and stored at the previous time slot, an exposure time calculating unit receiving the images captured at the predetermined time slot and setting exposure times for a next time slot, and an exposure time storing unit storing the exposure times for the next time slot.

Abstract: A method, medium, and apparatus for setting an exposure time is provided. The apparatus includes a section setting module which sets one or more luminance sections based on a luminance distribution of an input image, an image division module which divides the input image into two or more regions, a region classification module which classifies the regions into the luminance sections, and an exposure-time setting module which sets an exposure time for each of the regions with reference to a target luminance value, the target luminance value being set based on the results of the classification performed by the region classification module.

Abstract: An image-registration method, medium, and apparatus obtaining first and second images, generating first and second image pyramids based on the first and second images, respectively, by performing sub-sampling which reduces the length and width of each of the first and second images by half, and determining one of five directions as an optimal movement direction for a current level of the first and second image pyramids based on two images belonging to a corresponding level, updating a motion vector for the current level based on the optimal movement direction for the current level and updating a first image belonging to a level directly below the current level based on the updated motion vector for the current level, wherein the updating comprises updating a motion vector for each of a plurality of levels of the first and second image pyramids in an order from an uppermost level to a lowermost level.

Abstract: A CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor is provided. A CMOS image sensor includes a first light-receiving unit converting light into charge, a first floating diffusion region, in which a first potential corresponding to the converted amount of charge is generated and a second floating diffusion region, to which the charge in the first floating diffusion region is transmitted, and in which a second potential is generated, wherein a wide dynamic range signal is acquired from the first floating diffusion region, a high-sensitively signal is acquired from the second floating diffusion region, and the acquired signals are synthesized and output.

Abstract: An apparatus, method, and medium for generating an image is provided. The apparatus includes an optical module, a filter module which includes a wide-band filter area that allows transmission of optical signals within a wavelength band corresponding to a color of a predetermined color, a narrow-band filter area that allows transmission of optical signals within a wavelength band corresponding to the predetermined color, and an all-pass filter area that allows transmission of optical signals in all wavelength bands, and an image generation module which generates an image by processing optical signals that transmit through the filter module, wherein the image generation module applies different weights to optical signals according to which of the wide-band filter area, the narrow-band filter area, and the all-pass filter area the optical signals respectively transmit through.

Abstract: Provided is an apparatus and method for enhancing an image by optimizing exposure and grayscale. The apparatus includes a component-extracting unit separating luminance signals and color signals from input image signals; a luminance-enhancing unit enhancing the luminance of the luminance signals; and a contrast-enhancing unit dividing the luminance signal having the enhanced luminance into one or more local areas, and enhancing the contrast of the luminance signal having the enhanced luminance for each local area.

Abstract: An image photographing apparatus and method, and more particularly, an image photographing apparatus and method that may divide each unit sensor of an image sensor into a high-sensitivity sensor and a low-sensitivity sensor and sense an incident optical signal using the high-sensitivity sensor and the low-sensitivity sensor. The image photographing apparatus may include a light reception unit receiving an optical signal, a sensor unit sensing the optical signal, which is incident to a pixel region, using a plurality of sensors with different sensitivity and converting the sensed optical signal into a plurality of electrical signals, and a signal extraction unit extracting the quantity of accumulated electric charge for the optical signal, which was sensed by each of the sensors, with reference to each of the electrical signals.

Abstract: A system, medium, and method converting image colors, more particularly, a system, medium, and method converting image colors by estimating the surface spectral reflectance of a subject in one or more wavelength ranges based on an input color signal and by converting the input color signal into a device-independent color signal based on the estimated surface spectral reflectance. The system may include an image input unit receiving an image, a reflectance estimating unit estimating spectral reflectances of the image in one or more wavelength ranges, a reflectance synthesizing unit synthesizing the estimated spectral reflectances into one spectral reflectance, and a color converting unit converting the color of the image on the basis of the synthesized spectral reflectance.

Abstract: Provided is an image correction method and apparatus which can enhance the performance of image correction without deteriorating image quality. The image correction method includes creating a cumulative density function (CDF) based on a luminance histogram of an input image; calculating a plurality of correction parameters, which will be respectively applied to a plurality of different luminance adjustment functions, based on the CDF of the input image; and correcting luminance of the input image using the correction parameters and the luminance adjustment functions.

Abstract: An image photographing device and method, with the image photographing device enhancing image sensitivity. The image photographing device may include a lens unit, a filter unit including a first filter region which filters a complementary color of a predetermined color from light incident through the lens unit, a second filter region limiting the incident light to a predetermined primary color, a third filter region which passes all wavelength bands of the incident light, and a fourth filter region which filters outs an infrared wavelength band of the incident light, and an image sensor unit detecting light that passed through the filter unit and sensing an image.

Abstract: An image capturing device and method, with the image capturing device including a lens, a filter unit, and an image sensor unit. The filter unit has a first filter region which limits incident light, having passed through the lens, to primary color light, a second filter region which passes the incident light in all wavelength ranges, and a third filter region which limits light in an infrared wavelength range. The image sensor unit senses an image using light passing through the filter unit. Thereby, the ability to sense an image can be improved.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of preparing a porous polymer scaffold for tissue engineering using a gel spinning molding technique. The method of the present invention can prepare a porous polymer scaffold having a uniform pore size, high interconnectivity between pores and mechanical strength, as well as high cell seeding and proliferation efficiencies, which can be effectively used in tissue engineering applications. Further, the method of the present invention can easily mold a porous polymer scaffold in various types such as a tube type favorable for regeneration of blood vessels, esophagus, nerves and the like, as well as a sheet type favorable for regeneration of skins, muscles and the like, by regulating the shape and size of a template shaft.

Abstract: Disclosed are the methods for providing an improved process for organic sludge treatment. In the present invention, sludge is subjected to a membrane bioreactor and a fraction of sludge in the bioreactor is circulated through pretreatment devices. According to the present invention, since the biodegradability of cells in the sludge increases greatly by chemical and/or physical pretreatment, and since the solid-liquid separation and biodegradation occurs simultaneously in the membrane bioreactor, it is possible to significantly enhance sludge reduction efficiency.