The present disclosure relates to digital imaging systems and methods, and more specifically, to systems and methods for obtaining enhanced depth map information for images.
In conventional photography, the camera must typically be focused at the time the photograph is taken. The resulting image may have only color data for each pixel; accordingly, any object that was not in focus when the photograph was taken cannot be brought into sharper focus because the necessary data does not reside in the image. Further, conventional images typically contain little or no depth information to indicate the distance between the imaging plane and the objects in the scene. Thus, if a user wishes to apply any effects that take into account the shape and/or relative positioning of objects in the scene, he or she must apply guesswork to apply such effects, often with inaccurate results even after significant trial and error.
By contrast, light-field images typically encode additional data for each pixel related to the trajectory of light rays incident to that pixel when the light-field image was taken. This data can be used to manipulate the light-field image through the use of a wide variety of rendering techniques that are not possible to perform with a conventional photograph. In some implementations, a light-field image may be refocused and/or altered to simulate a change in the center of perspective (CoP) of the camera that received the image. Further, a light-field image may be used to generate an enhanced depth-of-field (EDOF) image in which all parts of the image are in focus.
Existing techniques for obtaining depth information from light-field images or other images are limited in many respects. Specifically, such techniques often produce depth information containing discontinuities or artifacts that do not represent accurate depth information, particularly when the objects being imaged have smooth surfaces. Such inaccuracies may make it difficult, time-consuming, labor-intensive, or even impossible to conduct subsequent image processing steps that involve the shape and/or relative positioning of the objects in the scene.
According to various embodiments, the system and method described herein capture a digital image, and provide for enhanced generation of a depth map indicative of the distance between objects in the scene and the camera used to capture the image. In at least one embodiment, the system and method may project a light pattern into a scene, and capture light reflected from the projected light pattern, to generate an improved-quality depth map for the image.
More specifically, in at least one embodiment, a light pattern source may be used to project the light pattern into a scene with one or more objects. The light pattern may be regular or random. For example, the light pattern may be a grid or other array of points or lines. From the light pattern, second light may be reflected from the objects. First light originating from one or more light sources other than the light pattern source may also be reflected from the one or more objects in the scene.
A camera may be used to capture the first light and the second light, after reflection of the first light and the second light from the one or more objects. The camera may be a light-field image capture device designed to capture light and generate corresponding light-field images. The camera may have one image sensor that captures the first light and the second light, or may have separate image sensors for capture of the first light and the second light. In a processor, which may be part of the camera or part of a post-processing system connected to the camera, at least the first light may be used to generate an image such as a light-field image.
Further, in the processor, at least the second light may be used to generate a depth map indicative of distance between the one or more objects and the camera. The processor may utilize the configuration of the light pattern to more accurately ascertain the distance from the camera of each part of each of the one or more objects that is illuminated by the light pattern. Additionally or alternatively, the light pattern may help the processor ascertain the orientation of surfaces illuminated by the light pattern.
In the event that the first and second light are simultaneously captured by a single image sensor, one or more image processing steps may be performed to remove the effects of the second light from the image so that the light pattern is substantially invisible to the viewer. Such image processing steps may include the use of various processing algorithms, which may, for example, compensate for the presence of the second light in the image by removing some of the color of the second light from pixels presumed to have captured the second light.
In the alternative, it may be beneficial to capture the first light and the second light at different times, with the first light captured when the light source is inactive, so that such processing need not be carried out. The first and second light may be captured in immediate succession so that the scene is substantially unchanged between capture of the first light and capture of the second light.
As another alternative, the first light and the second light may be captured simultaneously, but the first light may be projected at a first portion of the light sensor, while the second light is projected at a second portion of the light sensor. In this manner, image processing to remove the effects of the second light from the image may also be avoided. In some embodiments, the first light may be visible light, while the second light is invisible. The second light may be infrared, ultraviolet, or may be any other form of electromagnetic radiation, or the like. For ease of nomenclature, the term “light” is used, but is intended to refer to any type of suitable electromagnetic radiation. A light filter may have a portion that permits passage of the first light onto a first portion of the image sensor, and permits passage of the second light to a second portion of the image sensor. Thus, data generated by the first portion may be used to generate the image, while data generated by the second portion may be used to generate the depth map.
Additionally or alternatively, two separate light sensors may be used, as mentioned above, to capture the first light and the second light at the same time. For example, the second light may again be invisible, while the first light is visible. The camera may include a first image sensor that receives visible light, and a second image sensor that receives invisible light. A dichroic prism or the like may be used to direct light received through the camera aperture according to its wavelength. Visible light may be directed to the first image sensor, and invisible light may be directed to the second image sensor.
If desired, a first preliminary depth map may be generated via capture of the first light. For example, the camera may be a light-field camera that captures a four-dimensional light-field indicative of not only the color of light received by each pixel, but also of the angle of incidence of light to that pixel. Such light-field information may be processed to yield a depth map for the scene. The second light may be use to generate a second preliminary depth map. The first and second depth maps may be compared to provide a depth map of greater accuracy.
These are merely examples of generation of an enhanced depth map through the projection of a light pattern into a scene. In other embodiments, such depth information may be generated in other ways. Advantageously, the depth map may be used to model the one or more objects in the scene. Such capability may facilitate further image processing, generation of animation or virtual reality experiences based on the scene, control of robotic elements in the scene, and/or the like.
The accompanying drawings illustrate several embodiments. Together with the description, they serve to explain the principles of the embodiments. One skilled in the art will recognize that the particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary, and are not intended to limit scope.
For purposes of the description provided herein, the following definitions are used:
In addition, for ease of nomenclature, the term “camera” is used herein to refer to an image capture device or other data acquisition device. Such a data acquisition device can be any device or system for acquiring, recording, measuring, estimating, determining and/or computing data representative of a scene, including but not limited to two-dimensional image data, three-dimensional image data, and/or light-field data. Such a data acquisition device may include optics, sensors, and image processing electronics for acquiring data representative of a scene, using techniques that are well known in the art. One skilled in the art will recognize that many types of data acquisition devices can be used in connection with the present disclosure, and that the disclosure is not limited to cameras. Thus, the use of the term “camera” herein is intended to be illustrative and exemplary, but should not be considered to limit the scope of the disclosure. Specifically, any use of such term herein should be considered to refer to any suitable device for acquiring image data.
In the following description, several techniques and methods for processing light-field images are described. One skilled in the art will recognize that these various techniques and methods can be performed singly and/or in any suitable combination with one another.
In at least one embodiment, the system and method described herein can be implemented in connection with light-field images captured by light-field capture devices including but not limited to those described in Ng et al., Light-field photography with a hand-held plenoptic capture device, Technical Report CSTR 2005-02, Stanford Computer Science. Referring now to
In at least one embodiment, camera 200 may be a light-field camera that includes light-field image data acquisition device 209 having optics 201, image sensor 203 (including a plurality of individual sensors for capturing pixels), and microlens array 202. Optics 201 may include, for example, aperture 212 for allowing a selectable amount of light into camera 200, and main lens 213 for focusing light toward microlens array 202. In at least one embodiment, microlens array 202 may be disposed and/or incorporated in the optical path of camera 200 (between main lens 213 and image sensor 203) so as to facilitate acquisition, capture, sampling of, recording, and/or obtaining light-field image data via image sensor 203. Referring now also to
In at least one embodiment, light-field camera 200 may also include a user interface 205 for allowing a user to provide input for controlling the operation of camera 200 for capturing, acquiring, storing, and/or processing image data.
Similarly, in at least one embodiment, post-processing system 300 may include a user interface 305 that allows the user to provide input to control and/or activate active illumination, as set forth in this disclosure. The user interface 305 may additionally or alternatively facilitate the receipt of user input from the user to establish one or more parameters of subsequent image processing.
In at least one embodiment, light-field camera 200 may also include control circuitry 210 for facilitating acquisition, sampling, recording, and/or obtaining light-field image data. For example, control circuitry 210 may manage and/or control (automatically or in response to user input) the acquisition timing, rate of acquisition, sampling, capturing, recording, and/or obtaining of light-field image data.
In at least one embodiment, camera 200 may include memory 211 for storing image data, such as output by image sensor 203. Such memory 211 can include external and/or internal memory. In at least one embodiment, memory 211 can be provided at a separate device and/or location from camera 200.
For example, camera 200 may store raw light-field image data, as output by image sensor 203, and/or a representation thereof, such as a compressed image data file. In addition, as described in related U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/703,367 for “Light-field Camera Image, File and Configuration Data, and Method of Using, Storing and Communicating Same,” (Atty. Docket No. LYT3003), filed Feb. 10, 2010, memory 211 can also store data representing the characteristics, parameters, and/or configurations (collectively “configuration data”) of device 209.
In at least one embodiment, captured image data is provided to post-processing circuitry 204. The post-processing circuitry 204 may be disposed in or integrated into light-field image data acquisition device 209, as shown in
Such a separate component may include any of a wide variety of computing devices, including but not limited to computers, smartphones, tablets, cameras, and/or any other device that processes digital information. Such a separate component may include additional features such as a user input 215 and/or a display screen 216. If desired, light-field image data may be displayed for the user on the display screen 216.
Light-field images often include a plurality of projections (which may be circular or of other shapes) of aperture 212 of camera 200, each projection taken from a different vantage point on the camera's focal plane. The light-field image may be captured on image sensor 203. The interposition of microlens array 202 between main lens 213 and image sensor 203 causes images of aperture 212 to be formed on image sensor 203, each microlens in microlens array 202 projecting a small image of main-lens aperture 212 onto image sensor 203. These aperture-shaped projections are referred to herein as disks, although they need not be circular in shape. The term “disk” is not intended to be limited to a circular region, but can refer to a region of any shape.
Light-field images include four dimensions of information describing light rays impinging on the focal plane of camera 200 (or other capture device). Two spatial dimensions (herein referred to as x and y) are represented by the disks themselves. For example, the spatial resolution of a light-field image with 120,000 disks, arranged in a Cartesian pattern 400 wide and 300 high, is 400×300. Two angular dimensions (herein referred to as u and v) are represented as the pixels within an individual disk. For example, the angular resolution of a light-field image with 100 pixels within each disk, arranged as a 10×10 Cartesian pattern, is 10×10. This light-field image has a 4-D (x, y, u, v) resolution of (400,300,10,10). Referring now to
In at least one embodiment, the 4-D light-field representation may be reduced to a 2-D image through a process of projection and reconstruction. As described in more detail in related U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/774,971 for “Compensating for Variation in Microlens Position During Light-Field Image Processing,” (Atty. Docket No. LYT021), filed Feb. 22, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a virtual surface of projection may be introduced, and the intersections of representative rays with the virtual surface can be computed. The color of each representative ray may be taken to be equal to the color of its corresponding pixel.
Any number of image processing techniques can be used to reduce color artifacts, reduce projection artifacts, increase dynamic range, and/or otherwise improve image quality. Examples of such techniques, including for example modulation, demodulation, and demosaicing, are described in related U.S. application Ser. No. 13/774,925 for “Compensating for Sensor Saturation and Microlens Modulation During Light-Field Image Processing” (Atty. Docket No. LYT019), filed Feb. 22, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In particular, processing may utilize depth information for the image. Such depth information may take the form of a depth map, which may be a grayscale image in which each pixel has an intensity that indicates the distance from the camera of the corresponding pixel of the image. The depth map may be obtained, with limited accuracy, from the light-field data alone by comparing features present in the data captured by multiple microlenses of the microlens array 202. This comparison may be used to obtain depth information via triangulation and/or other techniques. However, as mentioned previously, this depth information may be of limited accuracy, particularly when the depth of smooth, textureless objects is to be assessed.
A depth map for a light-field image may advantageously be generated to indicate the depth of objects in the image from the image sensor 203. In some embodiments, the depth map may be enhanced via projection of a light pattern onto the objects of the scene (where “light” may refer to any form of electromagnetic radiation, whether visible or invisible to the human eye).
For example, referring again to
The light pattern source 420 may be a light emitting device such as a laser, incandescent, fluorescent, or LED light, which may emit the light pattern 422. The light pattern may be provided through the utilization of multiple light sources, such as an array of lasers. Additionally or alternatively, the light pattern may be provided via one or more masks positioned between the light emitter of the light pattern source 420 and the scene 402. The one or more masks may be transparent and/or translucent only within the pattern, and may be opaque to light projection outside of the pattern.
In some embodiments, the light pattern 422 may include light outside the visible spectrum (i.e., light with wavelengths above and/or below the wavelengths of light that are humanly visible). Further, the light pattern 422 may include only light outside the visible spectrum. For example, the light pattern 422 may include only infrared and/or ultraviolet light. Usage of invisible light in the light pattern 422 may help avoid alteration of the appearance of the scene 402, as captured by the camera 200.
The light pattern 422 may be regular or irregular. The phrases “light pattern” and “regular pattern” are defined above. An “irregular pattern” may be a light pattern that is not a regular pattern. Various examples of regular patterns will be shown and described subsequently, in connection with
The other light 412 and the light pattern 422 may be projected at the scene 402, and may illuminate the object 401 and/or any other object(s) present in the scene 402. The other light 412 may reflect from the scene 402 toward the camera 200 as first light 414, and the light pattern 422 may reflect from the scene 402 toward the camera 200 as second light 424. The first light 414 and the second light 424 may both be captured by the image sensor 203, if desired. In alternative embodiments, the first light 414 and the second light 424 may be captured by separate sensors and/or by separate parts of a sensor such as the image sensor 203 of
A light-field camera such as the camera 200 of
As indicated previously, a light-field camera need not necessarily be used to carry out the system and method of the present disclosure. The light-field camera 200 of
The depth map 520 may correspond to the image 510, and may thus indicate the depth of objects within the scene 402, as bounded by the edges of the image 510. If desired, the depth map 520 may take the form of an image, which may be in grayscale. Increasing intensity levels in such an image may be used to indicate increasing depth, or alternatively, to indicate decreasing depth. Optionally, the second light 424 may also be used in the generation of the image 510 and/or the first light 414 may be used in the generation of the depth map 520.
The method may start 600 with a step 610 in which the light pattern 422 is projected into the scene 402. This may be done by activating a light pattern source such as the light pattern source 420 of
The step 610 may entail activation of the light pattern source 420 for a prolonged period of time. Alternatively, the light pattern source 420 may only be activated for the duration of image capture, or for a slightly longer duration to ensure that the scene 402 is illuminated with the light pattern 422 for the entire duration of image capture. For example, the light pattern source 420 may be connected to the camera 200 such that, when the user initiates image capture, the light pattern source 420 is activated and remains active for at least the duration of image capture. Alternatively, the light pattern source 420 may be configured such that, when the user initiates image capture, the light pattern source 420 is activated for only a portion of the duration of image capture. Thus, the light pattern source 420 may operate in a manner similar to that of the flash on a conventional camera.
In a step 620, the first light 414 may be captured, for example, by the image sensor 203 of the camera 200. For a camera such as the light-field camera 200 of
In a step 625, the light pattern source 420 may be deactivated. As mentioned previously, this step may not be needed, depending on whether the light pattern 422 is to be projected during capture of the second light 424. In some embodiments, capture of the first light 414 may be substantially simultaneous with capture of the second light 424. In such embodiments, the light pattern source 420 may remain active during capture of the first light 414 and capture of the second light 424.
In a step 630, the second light 424 may be captured, for example, by the image sensor 203 of the example camera 200. As indicated previously, the second light 424 may optionally contribute to the image data 221. Alternatively, the second light 424 may be used only for the generation of the depth map 520. In the event that the second light 424 is captured by a sensor adjacent to a microlens array 202, such as the image sensor 203 of the camera 200 of
In a step 640, the image 510 may be generated. This may be done by processing the light-field data received via capture of the first light 414. If the step 620 and the step 630 are performed simultaneously with a single image sensor such as the image sensor 203 of the camera 200 of
In a step 650, the depth map 520 may be generated. This may be done by processing the light-field data received via capture of the second light 424. If the light pattern 422 is a regular pattern, the spacing of elements of the light pattern 422 may reveal the distance at which an object is positioned from the example camera 200. Variation (or lack of variation) in such spacing may reveal the orientation of a surface of the object. Such information may be processed by a processor, such as the post-processing circuitry 204 of the example camera 200 of
In some embodiments, the step 650 may include the generation of multiple depth maps. For example, as mentioned previously, usage of light-field data (such as data received from capture of the first light 414) alone may permit the generation of a depth map. If desired, a first preliminary depth map may be generated based on the light-field data generated from capture of the first light 414. A second preliminary depth map may be generated based on the data generated by capture of the second light 424. The second preliminary depth map may utilize the light pattern 422 as described above. Then, the first and second preliminary depth maps may be compared with each other to yield a finalized depth map. In some embodiments, comparison of multiple preliminary depth maps may facilitate noise reduction, identification of false depth artifacts, and the like. Thus, the finalized depth map may be more accurate than either of the preliminary depth maps.
Once the step 640 and the step 650 have been carried out, the method may end 690. The depth map 520 may then be used in further processing of the image 510, for example, to generate a three-dimensional model of one or more objects in the scene captured in the image 510, to carry out depth-based image processing, or the like.
The method of
The method of
As indicated previously, the second light 424 reflected from the light pattern 422 may be captured simultaneously with capture of the first light 414 reflected from the light 412 from the other light sources 410. If this is done using the same sensor (for example, the image sensor 203 of the camera 200 of
For example, if the light pattern 422 has a fixed, known relationship relative to the camera 200, the processor (for example, the post-processing circuitry 204 of
In alternative embodiments, the first light 414 may be captured at a different time from capture of the second light 424. For example, the camera 200 may capture the first light 414, activate the light pattern source 420 to emit the light pattern 422, and then capture the second light 424 after capture of the first light 414 has been completed. Then, only the first light 414 may be used to generate the image 510, and only the second light 424 may be used to generate the depth map 520.
Advantageously, in such an embodiment, the image 510 may not include any effects from the light pattern 422, since the light pattern 422 was not being projected into the scene 402 at the time the first light 414 was captured. Thus, there may be no need to process the image 510 to remove effects of the light pattern 422. If capture of the first light 414 and capture of the second light 424 are performed in relatively rapid succession, there may be little or no motion of the objects in the scene 402 relative to the camera, between the two capture steps. Such a method may be performed with a camera having a single sensor, like the camera 200 of
In other alternative embodiments, the first light 414 and the second light 424 may be captured simultaneously, but by different sensors, or by different portions of a single sensor. Again, in such embodiments, only the first light 414 may be used to generate the image 510, and only the second light 424 may be used to generate the depth map 520. Such embodiments may also have the advantage of having no need to process the image 510 to remove effects of the light pattern 422.
Implementation of such embodiments may be facilitated where the light pattern 422 includes light within a frequency range distinct from that of the other light 412. Since the other light 412 likely includes visible light, it may be advantageous to use invisible light, such as ultraviolet and/or infrared light, for the light pattern 422. Then, various optical components may be used to separate the visible light from the invisible light so the first light 414 and the second light 424 can be separated from each other for capture. Exemplary embodiments of utilizing such optical components will be shown and described in connection with
As shown, the light filter 800 may have a central portion 810 that does not permit passage of invisible light, such as ultraviolet and/or infrared light. Further, the light filter 800 may have a peripheral portion 820 that permits passage of invisible light of the frequency used in the light pattern 422. Thus, for example, the peripheral portion 820 may be permeable to infrared or ultraviolet light. The light filter 800 may be used in conjunction with a single sensor of a type capable of detecting visible light and invisible light of the wavelength used in the light pattern 422.
Hence, the light filter 800 may project the first light 414 toward the sensor (for example, the image sensor 203 of the light-field camera 200 of
The image sensor 203 may include a first portion that receives the first light 414 and a second portion that receives the second light 424. In this example, the first portion may have a generally circular shape at the interior of the image sensor 203, and the second portion may have a generally annular shape that fits around the first portion.
The first portion and the second portion of the image sensor 203 may have different compositions and/or structures that are optimized capture of visible light by the first portion and capture of invisible light by the second portion. Alternatively, the first portion and the second portion may have substantially the same configuration, in which the first portion and the second portion are both able to capture visible light and invisible light of the frequency range(s) used in the light pattern 422. The processor (for example, the post-processing circuitry 204 of
Advantageously, the depth map 520 may be generated from the rays of light having the largest angular diversity (i.e., rays passing through the peripheral portion 820 of the light filter 800). This may lead to more accurate depth estimates, thus enabling higher accuracy of the depth map 520. Further, the usage of rays passing through the central portion 810 of the light filter 800 to generate the image 510 may also be advantageous. For example, light rays of less angular diversity may lead to the generation of higher quality extended depth of field (EDOF) images.
As another advantage, the image 510 may be produced using only the data received from capture of the first light 414 (i.e., the data captured by the first portion of the image sensor 203). Thus, the image 510 may not need to be processed to remove any effects from the light pattern 422.
In at least one embodiment, the light filter 800 is implemented using an image sensor that is capable of capturing ray angle information, i.e., a light-field. Further, a microlens array, such as the microlens array 202 of
In alternative embodiments, separate images sensors may be used for visible and invisible light. One such embodiment will be shown and described in connection with
The incoming light 950 may include both the first light 414 and the second light 424. The first light 414 may be directed by the dichroic prism 900 toward the first image sensor 910 (as the visible light 960), and the second light 424 may be directed by the dichroic prism 900 toward the second image sensor 920 (as the invisible light 970). Thus, the first image sensor 910 may capture the first light 414 and the second image sensor 920 may capture the second light 424, substantially simultaneously with capture of the first light 414.
If desired, a microlens array (not shown in
As in the embodiment of
Further, the embodiment of
Those of skill in the art will recognize that a wide variety of optical components besides the light filter 800 of
Thus, this depth map 1130 is better suited to facilitate depth-based processing of the image 1020, generation of a three-dimensional model of the face, and/or the like. By way of further example, a three-dimensional model of the face, generated through the use of the image 1120 and the depth map 1130, will be shown in
As indicated previously, a relatively accurate depth map can also be used to process an image based on the depth of objects from the camera. For example, effects may be applied, with variable application based on the depth of the object or surface from the camera. As one example, a background of an image may be replaced with a different background without requiring the user to specifically delineate which portions of the image pertain to the background to be replaced, and which portions pertain to foreground objects.
The above description and referenced drawings set forth particular details with respect to possible embodiments. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the techniques described herein may be practiced in other embodiments. First, the particular naming of the components, capitalization of terms, the attributes, data structures, or any other programming or structural aspect is not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement the techniques described herein may have different names, formats, or protocols. Further, the system may be implemented via a combination of hardware and software, as described, or entirely in hardware elements, or entirely in software elements. Also, the particular division of functionality between the various system components described herein is merely exemplary, and not mandatory; functions performed by a single system component may instead be performed by multiple components, and functions performed by multiple components may instead be performed by a single component.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Some embodiments may include a system or a method for performing the above-described techniques, either singly or in any combination. Other embodiments may include a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and computer program code, encoded on the medium, for causing a processor in a computing device or other electronic device to perform the above-described techniques.
Some portions of the above are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a memory of a computing device. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps (instructions) leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It is convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. Furthermore, it is also convenient at times, to refer to certain arrangements of steps requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities as modules or code devices, without loss of generality.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “displaying” or “determining” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing module and/or device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
Certain aspects include process steps and instructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should be noted that the process steps and instructions of described herein can be embodied in software, firmware and/or hardware, and when embodied in software, can be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by a variety of operating systems.
Some embodiments relate to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computing device. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, flash memory, solid state drives, magnetic or optical cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. Further, the computing devices referred to herein may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computing device, virtualized system, or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will be apparent from the description provided herein. In addition, the techniques set forth herein are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the techniques described herein, and any references above to specific languages are provided for illustrative purposes only.
Accordingly, in various embodiments, the techniques described herein can be implemented as software, hardware, and/or other elements for controlling a computer system, computing device, or other electronic device, or any combination or plurality thereof. Such an electronic device can include, for example, a processor, an input device (such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, trackpad, joystick, trackball, microphone, and/or any combination thereof), an output device (such as a screen, speaker, and/or the like), memory, long-term storage (such as magnetic storage, optical storage, and/or the like), and/or network connectivity, according to techniques that are well known in the art. Such an electronic device may be portable or nonportable. Examples of electronic devices that may be used for implementing the techniques described herein include: a mobile phone, personal digital assistant, smartphone, kiosk, server computer, enterprise computing device, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, consumer electronic device, television, set-top box, or the like. An electronic device for implementing the techniques described herein may use any operating system such as, for example: Linux; Microsoft Windows, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; Mac OS X, available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.; iOS, available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.; Android, available from Google, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.; and/or any other operating system that is adapted for use on the device.
In various embodiments, the techniques described herein can be implemented in a distributed processing environment, networked computing environment, or web-based computing environment. Elements can be implemented on client computing devices, servers, routers, and/or other network or non-network components. In some embodiments, the techniques described herein are implemented using a client/server architecture, wherein some components are implemented on one or more client computing devices and other components are implemented on one or more servers. In one embodiment, in the course of implementing the techniques of the present disclosure, client(s) request content from server(s), and server(s) return content in response to the requests. A browser may be installed at the client computing device for enabling such requests and responses, and for providing a user interface by which the user can initiate and control such interactions and view the presented content.
Any or all of the network components for implementing the described technology may, in some embodiments, be communicatively coupled with one another using any suitable electronic network, whether wired or wireless or any combination thereof, and using any suitable protocols for enabling such communication. One example of such a network is the Internet, although the techniques described herein can be implemented using other networks as well.
While a limited number of embodiments has been described herein, those skilled in the art, having benefit of the above description, will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scope of the claims. In addition, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting.
The present application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/774,925 for “Compensating for Sensor Saturation and Microlens Modulation During Light-Field Image Processing” (Atty. Docket No. LYT019), filed Feb. 22, 2013, issued on Feb. 3, 2015 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,948,545, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/774,971 for “Compensating for Variation in Microlens Position During Light-Field Image Processing” (Atty. Docket No. LYT021), filed on Feb. 22, 2013, issued on Sep. 9, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,831,377, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/774,986 for “Light-Field Processing and Analysis, Camera Control, and User Interfaces and Interaction on Light-Field Capture Devices” (Atty. Docket No. LYT066), filed on Feb. 22, 2013, issued on Mar. 31, 2015 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,995,785, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/688,026 for “Extended Depth of Field and Variable Center of Perspective in Light-Field Processing” (Atty. Docket No. LYT003), filed on Nov. 28, 2012, issued on Aug. 19, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,811,769, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 11/948,901 for “Interactive Refocusing of Electronic Images,” (Atty. Docket No. LYT3000), filed Nov. 30, 2007, issued on Oct. 15, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,559,705, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/703,367 for “Light-field Camera Image, File and Configuration Data, and Method of Using, Storing and Communicating Same,” (Atty. Docket No. LYT3003), filed Feb. 10, 2010, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/027,946 for “3D Light-field Cameras, Images and Files, and Methods of Using, Operating, Processing and Viewing Same” (Atty. Docket No. LYT3006), filed on Feb. 15, 2011, issued on Jun. 10, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,749,620, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is related to U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/155,882 for “Storage and Transmission of Pictures Including Multiple Frames,” (Atty. Docket No. LYT009), filed Jun. 8, 2011, issued on Dec. 9, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,908,058, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.