Abstract: An image capture accelerator performs accelerated processing of image data. In one embodiment, the image capture accelerator includes accelerator circuitry including a pre-processing engine and a compression engine. The pre-processing engine is configured to perform accelerated processing on received image data, and the compression engine is configured to compress processed image data received from the pre-processing engine. In one embodiment, the image capture accelerator further includes a demultiplexer configured to receive image data captured by an image sensor array implemented within, for example, an image sensor chip. The demultiplexer may output the received image data to an image signal processor when the image data is captured by the image sensor array in a standard capture mode, and may output the received image data to the accelerator circuitry when the image data is captured by the image sensor array in an accelerated capture mode.

Abstract: A pair of cameras having an overlapping field of view is aligned based on images captured by image sensors of the pair of cameras. A pixel shift is identified between the images. Based on the identified pixel shift, a calibration is applied to one or both of the pair of cameras. To determine the pixel shift, the camera applies correlation methods including edge matching. Calibrating the pair of cameras may include adjusting a read window on an image sensor. The pixel shift can also be used to determine a time lag, which can be used to synchronize subsequent image captures.

Abstract: A pair of cameras having an overlapping field of view is aligned based on images captured by image sensors of the pair of cameras. A pixel shift is identified between the images. Based on the identified pixel shift, a calibration is applied to one or both of the pair of cameras. To determine the pixel shift, the camera applies correlation methods including edge matching. Calibrating the pair of cameras may include adjusting a read window on an image sensor. The pixel shift can also be used to determine a time lag, which can be used to synchronize subsequent image captures.

Abstract: The conversion of RAW data captured by a camera can have artifacts in smoothness of various hues for varying chroma. To optimize smoothness and color accuracy, transform coefficients defining conversion of a standard color model to a target color model are determined. The RAW data is converted to data in a standard color model and the data in the standard color model is converted to data in the target color model using the transform coefficients. The process is repeated for various lightness levels and combined into a look up table to efficiently convert RAW data to data in the target color model for various lightness levels.

Abstract: A pair of cameras having an overlapping field of view is aligned based on images captured by image sensors of the pair of cameras. A pixel shift is identified between the images. Based on the identified pixel shift, a calibration is applied to one or both of the pair of cameras. To determine the pixel shift, the camera applies correlation methods including edge matching. Calibrating the pair of cameras may include adjusting a read window on an image sensor. The pixel shift can also be used to determine a time lag, which can be used to synchronize subsequent image captures.

Abstract: A method for chroma denoising a digital image created in a digital camera includes decomposing the digital image into a plurality of spatial frequency bands. A separate modified color correction matrix is calculated from a color correction matrix associated with the camera for each of the plurality of spatial frequency bands. Each modified color correction matrix is applied to data in its corresponding spatial frequency band to produce color-corrected data in the plurality of spatial frequency bands. The color-corrected data in plurality of spatial frequency bands is combined to produce an output image.

Abstract: An image sensor of a camera system captures an image over an image capture interval of time, and waits a blanking interval of time before capturing an additional image. The captured image is provided to a frame controller, and is buffered until an image signal processor accesses the captured image. The image signal processor processes the accessed image over an image processing interval of time, producing a processed image. The image processing interval of time is selected to be greater than the image capture interval of time, but less than the sum of the image capture interval of time and the blanking interval of time. By reducing the image capture interval of time but maintaining an image processing interval of time, rolling shutter artifacts are beneficially reduced without increasing the processing resources or power required by the image signal processor to process the image.

Abstract: An image capture accelerator performs accelerated processing of image data. In one embodiment, the image capture accelerator includes accelerator circuitry including a pre-processing engine and a compression engine. The pre-processing engine is configured to perform accelerated processing on received image data, and the compression engine is configured to compress processed image data received from the pre-processing engine. In one embodiment, the image capture accelerator further includes a demultiplexer configured to receive image data captured by an image sensor array implemented within, for example, an image sensor chip. The demultiplexer may output the received image data to an image signal processor when the image data is captured by the image sensor array in a standard capture mode, and may output the received image data to the accelerator circuitry when the image data is captured by the image sensor array in an accelerated capture mode.

Abstract: A camera system captures an image in a source aspect ratio and applies a transformation to the input image to scale and warp the image to generate an output image having a target aspect ratio different than the source aspect ratio. The output image has the same field of view as the input image, maintains image resolution, and limits distortion to levels that do not substantially affect the viewing experience. In one embodiment, the output image is non-linearly warped relative to the input image such that a distortion in the output image relative to the input image is greater in a corner region of the output image than a center region of the output image.

Abstract: A camera system captures an image in a source aspect ratio and applies a transformation to the input image to scale and warp the image to generate an output image having a target aspect ratio different than the source aspect ratio. The output image has the same field of view as the input image, maintains image resolution, and limits distortion to levels that do not substantially affect the viewing experience. In one embodiment, the output image is non-linearly warped relative to the input image such that a distortion in the output image relative to the input image is greater in a corner region of the output image than a center region of the output image.

Abstract: An image sensor of a camera system captures an image over an image capture interval of time, and waits a blanking interval of time before capturing an additional image. The captured image is provided to a frame controller, and is buffered until an image signal processor accesses the captured image. The image signal processor processes the accessed image over an image processing interval of time, producing a processed image. The image processing interval of time is selected to be greater than the image capture interval of time, but less than the sum of the image capture interval of time and the blanking interval of time. By reducing the image capture interval of time but maintaining an image processing interval of time, rolling shutter artifacts are beneficially reduced without increasing the processing resources or power required by the image signal processor to process the image.

Abstract: An image capture accelerator performs accelerated processing of image data. In one embodiment, the image capture accelerator includes accelerator circuitry including a pre-processing engine and a compression engine. The pre-processing engine is configured to perform accelerated processing on received image data, and the compression engine is configured to compress processed image data received from the pre-processing engine. In one embodiment, the image capture accelerator further includes a demultiplexer configured to receive image data captured by an image sensor array implemented within, for example, an image sensor chip. The demultiplexer may output the received image data to an image signal processor when the image data is captured by the image sensor array in a standard capture mode, and may output the received image data to the accelerator circuitry when the image data is captured by the image sensor array in an accelerated capture mode.

Abstract: Various techniques are disclosed for processing statistics data in an image signal processor (ISP). In one embodiment, a statistics collection engine may be configured to acquire statistics relating to auto white-balance. The statistics collection engine may receive raw Bayer RGB data acquired by an image sensor and may be configured to perform one or more color space conversions to obtain pixel data in other color spaces. A set of pixel filters may be configured to accumulate sums of the pixel data conditionally based upon YC1C2 characteristics, as defined by a pixel condition per pixel filter. Depending on a selected color space, the pixel filters may generate color sums, which may be used to match a current illuminant against a set of reference illuminants with which the image sensor has been previously calibrated.

Abstract: A method for identifying singleton outlier pixels in a selected color space in a digital image including a plurality of pixels, includes for each 3×3 patch of pixels in the image, calculating the diameter of the 3×3 patch of pixels. For each pixel in the patch, the distance to its nearest neighbor pixel within the patch is computed, as measured in the selected color space. The computed distance from each pixel in the patch is compared to its nearest neighbor with a threshold that is a preselected fraction of the diameter. A center pixel in the patch is identified as an outlier pixel if its calculated distance to its nearest neighbor is the largest distance to a nearest neighbor and exceeds the threshold.

Abstract: An aspect container being operable to generate an instance of itself at run time is provided. The aspect container comprises logic operable to create an instance of the aspect container by reading configuration information specifying a sequence of one or more aspects from an aspect container configuration file corresponding to the aspect container. The logic is also operable to generate instances of the aspects in the sequence, configure each aspect instance with its configuration information from an aspect configuration file corresponding to the aspect, and chain the aspect instances according to the specified sequence, such that the chain of aspect instances preamble and postamble activities of a class or method.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for applying spatial filtering to raw image data. For example, a spatial filter may identify an n x n block of pixels from an image frame. The spatial filter has filter taps, each corresponding to one of the pixels of the n x n block. Pixel difference values between the input pixel and each of the neighboring pixels in the n x n block may be determined. Attenuation factors may be determined based on the pixel differences and brightness of the input pixel. Applying the attenuation factors to their respective filtering taps may produce attenuated filtering coefficients that are used to obtain filtered pixel values. By normalizing the sum of the filtered pixel values using the sum of the attenuated filtering coefficients, a spatially filtered output value corresponding to the current input pixel (e.g., located at the center of the n x n block) may be determined.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for applying lens shading correction to image data captured by an image sensor are provided. In one embodiment, multiple lens shading adaptation functions, each modeled based on the response of a color channel to a reference illuminant, are provided. An image frame from the image data may be analyzed to select a lens shading adaptation function corresponding to a reference illuminant that most closely matches a current illuminant. The selected lens shading function may then be used to adjust a set of lens shading parameters.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for applying spatial filtering to raw image data. In one embodiment, a spatial filter may identify an n×n block of pixels from the current image frame, the n×n block including a plurality of neighboring pixels being centered about a current input pixel and being of the same color component as the current input pixel. The spatial filter may include a plurality of filter taps, with one filter tap corresponding to each of the pixels within the n×n block. A set of filtering coefficients for each filter tap, which may be based on a Gaussian function, may be determined. A pixel difference value between the current input pixel and each of the plurality of neighboring pixels in the n×n block are determined, and the pixel differences may be used to determine an attenuation factor for each filter tap.

Abstract: A method for identifying singleton outlier pixels in a selected color space in a digital image including a plurality of pixels, includes for each 3×3 patch of pixels in the image, calculating the diameter of the 3×3 patch of pixels. For each pixel in the patch, the distance to its nearest neighbor pixel within the patch is computed, as measured in the selected color space. The computed distance from each pixel in the patch is compared to its nearest neighbor with a threshold that is a preselected fraction of the diameter. A center pixel in the patch is identified as an outlier pixel if its calculated distance to its nearest neighbor is the largest distance to a nearest neighbor and exceeds the threshold.

Abstract: Various techniques are disclosed for processing statistics data in an image signal processor (ISP). In one embodiment, a statistics collection engine may be configured to acquire statistics relating to auto white-balance. The statistics collection engine may receive raw Bayer RGB data acquired by an image sensor and may be configured to perform one or more color space conversions to obtain pixel data in other color spaces. A set of pixel filters may be configured to accumulate sums of the pixel data conditionally based upon YC1C2 characteristics, as defined by a pixel condition per pixel filter. Depending on a selected color space, the pixel filters may generate color sums, which may be used to match a current illuminant against a set of reference illuminants with which the image sensor has been previously calibrated.