Apple inc. (20240107177). Techniques for Correcting Images in Flash Photography simplified abstract

Techniques for Correcting Images in Flash Photography

Organization Name

apple inc.

Inventor(s)

Bosheng Zhang of Sunnyvale CA (US)

Tobias Baldauf of Newmarket (GB)

llya Romanenko of Foxton (GB)

Nicolas P. Bonnier of Mountain View CA (US)

Noah D. Bedard of Los Gatos CA (US)

Alexandra S. Ludlow of Cambridge (GB)

Graham D. Finlayson of Norwich (GB)

Jason P. De Villiers of Cambridge (GB)

Claus Moelgaard of Los Gatos CA (US)

Hau Ling Hung of San Jose CA (US)

Paul M. Hubel of Mountain View CA (US)

Techniques for Correcting Images in Flash Photography - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240107177 titled 'Techniques for Correcting Images in Flash Photography

Simplified Explanation

The embodiments disclosed in this patent application relate to devices and methods for correcting the brightness of flash images in a spatially-varying manner. Here are some key points to note:

• Utilizes a set of images captured under flash illumination and without flash illumination to decompose flash images into flash and ambient contribution images.
• Recombines the flash and ambient contribution images to generate a corrected flash image.
• Adjusts the relative contributions of the images based on information about the flash module and/or scene during recombination.

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in various fields such as photography, computer vision, and image processing for enhancing the quality of flash images.

Problems Solved

1. Corrects spatially-varying brightness issues in flash images. 2. Improves the overall quality and appearance of flash photography.

Benefits

1. Enhanced image quality with improved brightness correction. 2. More natural-looking flash images. 3. Greater control over the final output of flash photography.

Potential Commercial Applications

The technology could be integrated into digital cameras, smartphones, and other imaging devices to offer users a more advanced and accurate flash photography experience.

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of image processing algorithms to enhance the quality of flash images, but the specific method of decomposing and recombining flash and ambient contribution images may be a novel approach.

Unanswered Questions

How does this technology compare to existing methods of brightness correction in flash photography?

This article does not provide a direct comparison with other methods or technologies in the field.

Are there any limitations or drawbacks to implementing this spatially-varying brightness correction in practical applications?

The potential challenges or limitations of implementing this technology in real-world scenarios are not discussed in detail in this article.

Original Abstract Submitted

embodiments disclosed herein are directed to devices and methods for performing spatially-varying brightness correction of a flash image. the spatially-varying brightness correction utilizes a set of images that includes one or more images captured under flash illumination and one or more images captured without flash illumination, which are used to decompose one of the flash images or an image generated therefrom into a flash contribution image and an ambient contribution image. the flash contribution image and the ambient contribution image are recombined to generate a corrected flash image, and information about the flash module and/or scene is used to adjust the relative contributions of these images during recombination.