Systems and methods for implementing seamless zoom function using multiple cameras

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10194089-B2
Application number	US-201615017898-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2016
Priority date	Feb 8, 2016
Publication date	Jan 29, 2019
Grant date	Jan 29, 2019

Abstract

Devices and methods for providing seamless preview images for multi-camera devices having two or more asymmetric cameras. A multi-camera device may include two asymmetric cameras disposed to image a target scene. The multi-camera device further includes a processor coupled to a memory component and a display, the processor configured to retrieve an image generated by a first camera from the memory component, retrieve an image generated by a second camera from the memory component, receive input corresponding to a preview zoom level, retrieve spatial transform information and photometric transform information from memory, modify at least one image received from the first and second cameras by the spatial transform and the photometric transform, and provide on the display a preview image comprising at least a portion of the at least one modified image and a portion of either the first image or the second image based on the preview zoom level.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for reducing power consumption of an imaging system having multiple cameras during operation of a zoom function, the method comprising:
providing a first image of a scene from a first camera having a first field of view;
providing a second image of at least a portion of the scene from a second camera having a second field of view that is smaller than the first field of view;
presenting a preview image of the scene on a display of the imaging system, the preview image based on the first and second images;
receiving a zoom-in command from a user;
determining a zoom level of the zoom-in command;
spatially aligning pixels of the first image with corresponding pixels of the second image, based on the determined zoom-in level, to generate a modified preview image;
presenting the modified preview image on the display; and
selectively adjusting power states of the first and second cameras based on the determined zoom-in level.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first camera comprises a wide-angle camera, and the second camera comprises a telephoto camera.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first camera has an angle of view of greater than or equal to 57 degrees, and the second camera has an angle of view of less than 50 degrees.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein selectively adjusting the power states of the first and second cameras comprises:
maintaining the first camera in an on state and transitioning the second camera to an off state when the determined zoom-in level is less than a first value;
maintaining the first camera and the second camera in the on state when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the first value and less than a second value, wherein the second value is greater than the first value; and
transitioning the first camera to the off state and maintaining the second camera in the on state when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the second value.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first value is based on the first field of view of the first camera, and the second value is based on the second field of view of the second camera.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
the modified preview image includes the first image and not the second image when the determined zoom-in level is less than the first value;
the modified preview image includes a blend of the first image and the second image when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the first value and less than the second value; and
the modified preview image includes the second image and not the first image when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the second value.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein presenting the preview image comprises:
selectively fading an output of the first camera into an output of the second camera based on the zoom-in command.

8. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving a zoom-out command from the user;
determining a zoom level of the zoom-out command; and
selectively re-adjusting the power states of the first and second cameras based on the determined zoom-out level.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein selectively re-adjusting the power states of the first and second cameras comprises:
transitioning the first camera from the off state to the on state when the determined zoom-out level is less than the first value and the determined zoom-in level is greater than the second value; and
transitioning the second camera from the off state to the on state when the determined zoom-out level is greater than the first value and the determined zoom-in level is less than the first value.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
selectively fading the output of the second camera into the output of the first camera based on the zoom-out command.

11. A system for reducing power consumption of an imaging system having multiple cameras during operation of a zoom function, the system comprising:
one or more processors; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
provide a first image of a scene from a first camera having a first field of view;
provide a second image of at least a portion of the scene from a second camera having a second field of view that is smaller than the first field of view;
present a preview image of the scene on a display of the imaging system, the preview image based on the first and second images;
receive a zoom-in command from a user;
determine a zoom level of the zoom-in command;
spatially align pixels of the first image with corresponding pixels of the second image, based on the determined zoom-in level, to generate a modified preview image;
present the modified preview image on the display; and
selectively adjust power states of the first and second cameras based on the determined zoom-in level.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first camera comprises a wide-angle camera, and the second camera comprises a telephoto camera.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first camera has an angle of view of greater than or equal to 57 degrees, and the second camera has an angle of view of less than 50 degrees.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein execution of the instructions to selectively adjust the power states of the first and second cameras causes the system to:
maintain the first camera in an on state and transitioning the second camera to an off state when the determined zoom-in level is less than a first value;
maintain the first camera and the second camera in the on state when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the first value and less than a second value, wherein the second value is greater than the first value; and
transition the first camera to the off state and maintaining the second camera in the on state when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the second value.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first value is based on the first field of view of the first camera, and the second value is based on the second field of view of the second camera.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein:
the modified preview image includes the first image and not the second image when the determined zoom-in level is less than the first value;
the modified preview image includes a blend of the first image and the second image when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the first value and less than the second value; and
the modified preview image includes the second image and not the first image when the determined zoom-in level is greater than the second value.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein execution of the instructions to present the preview image causes the system to:
selectively fade an output of the first camera into an output of the second camera based on the zoom-in command.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the system to:
receive a zoom-out command from the user;
determine a zoom level of the zoom-out command; and
selectively re-adjust the power states of the first and second cameras based on the determined zoom-out level.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein execution of the instructions to selectively re-adjust the power states of the first and second cameras causes the system to:
transition the first camera from the off state to the on state when the determined zoom-out level is less than the first value and the determined zoom-in level is greater than the second value; and
transition the second camera from the off state to the on state w

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Nash James Wilson
• Atanassov Kalin Mitkov
• Goma Sergiu Radu
• Ravirala Narayana Karthik Sadanandam
• Dayana Venkata Ravi Kiran
• Shanmugavadivelu Karthikeyan

Classifications

• H04N23/45

  for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images · CPC title

• G06T5/50 Primary

  using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction · CPC title

• H04N23/63

  by using electronic viewfinders · CPC title

• H04N23/90

  Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums · CPC title

• H04N23/69 Primary

  Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming · CPC title