Camera testing using reverse projection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10429271-B2
Application number	US-201715608899-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2017
Priority date	Jul 1, 2016
Publication date	Oct 1, 2019
Grant date	Oct 1, 2019

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for testing a modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response of an imaging system includes, on a computing device, generating a plurality of accumulation cells running along an accumulation line. A boundary delineation divides a first segment of a digital test image captured by the imaging system from a second segment, and the plurality of accumulation cells collectively comprise a one-dimensional accumulation array. For each of the accumulation cells, a projection ray is generated that extends through the accumulation cell and through the digital test image Each accumulation cell is loaded with an accumulated pixel value based on pixel values sampled from each of a plurality of sampling locations along the projection ray. The modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response of the imaging system is derived from the one-dimensional accumulation array.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for computing a modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response of an imaging system, the method comprising:
on a computing device, receiving a digital test image captured via the imaging system, the digital test image having a plurality of pixels;
determining a region of interest in the digital test image;
fitting a boundary delineation to a boundary between a light segment and a dark segment of the region of interest, the boundary delineation being non-parallel relative to an edge of the digital test image;
generating a plurality of accumulation cells running along an accumulation line perpendicular to the boundary delineation, the plurality of accumulation cells collectively comprising a one-dimensional accumulation array;
loading each accumulation cell of the one-dimensional accumulation array with an accumulated pixel value, the accumulated pixel value being based on pixel values sampled from each of a plurality of sampling locations along a projection ray extending through the accumulation cell and through the region of interest, such that each projection ray is parallel to the boundary delineation and non-parallel relative to the edge of the digital test image; and
deriving the modulation transfer function or the spatial frequency response of the imaging system from the one-dimensional accumulation array.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , where the pixel value sampled at each of the plurality of sampling locations is a weighted interpolation of pixel values of one or more pixels proximate to the sampling location.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , where each accumulated pixel value is an average of each of the pixel values sampled from each of the plurality of sampling locations, and each of the plurality of sampling locations are equally-spaced along the projection ray.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to fitting the boundary delineation, linearizing pixel data of the region of interest to reverse an opto-electronic conversion performed when the digital test image was captured.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , where the light segment and the dark segment of the region of interest are identified using a Ridler-Calvard algorithm.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , where fitting of the boundary delineation is performed using a total least squares algorithm.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , where the one-dimensional accumulation array is oversampled relative to the digital test image.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to deriving the modulation transfer function, differentiating a plot of accumulated pixel values taken from the plurality of accumulation cells of the one-dimensional accumulation array to give a differentiated plot of accumulated pixel values.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , where the plot of accumulated pixel values is differentiated via convolution using a finite impulse response filter.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising applying a window function to the differentiated plot of accumulated pixel values.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising transforming the differentiated plot of accumulated pixel values to a frequency-domain plot, and deriving the modulation transfer function of the imaging system from the frequency-domain plot.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , where the differentiated plot of accumulated pixel values is transformed using a discrete Fourier transform.

13. A modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response testing computer system, comprising:
an input interface; and
an image processor configured to:
via the input interface, receive a digital test image captured by an imaging system, the digital test image having a plurality of pixels;
determine a region of interest in the digital test image;
fit a boundary delineation to a boundary between a light segment and a dark segment of the region of interest, the boundary delineation being non-parallel relative to an edge of the digital test image;
generate a plurality of accumulation cells running along an accumulation line perpendicular to the boundary delineation, the plurality of accumulation cells collectively comprising a one-dimensional accumulation array;
for each of the plurality of accumulation cells, generate a projection ray extending through the accumulation cell and through the region of interest, the projection ray extending parallel to the boundary delineation and extending non-parallel relative to the edge of the digital test image;
load each accumulation cell of the one-dimensional accumulation array with an accumulated pixel value, the accumulated pixel value being based on pixel values sampled from each of a plurality of sampling locations along the projection ray; and
derive the modulation transfer function or the spatial frequency response of the imaging system from the one-dimensional accumulation array.

14. The modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response testing computer system of claim 13 , where the pixel value sampled at each of the plurality of sampling locations is a weighted interpolation of pixel values of one or more pixels proximate to the sampling location.

15. The modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response testing computer system of claim 13 , where each accumulated pixel value is an average of each of the pixel values sampled from each of the plurality of sampling locations, and each of the plurality of sampling locations is equally-spaced along the projection ray.

16. The modulation transfer function or spatial frequency response testing computer system of claim 13 , where the one-dimensional accumulation array is oversampled relative to a pixel resolution of the digital test image.

17. The modulation transfer function testing or spatial frequency response computer system of claim 13 , where the light segment and the dark segment of the region of interest are identified using a Ridler-Calvard algorithm.

18. A computer-implemented method for computing a modulation transfer function or a spatial frequency response of an imaging system, the method comprising:
on a computing device, generating a plurality of accumulation cells running along an accumulation line perpendicular to a boundary delineation, the boundary delineation being non-parallel relative to an edge of a digital test image and dividing a light segment of the digital test image captured by the imaging system from a dark segment of the digital test image, and the plurality of accumulation cells collectively comprising a one-dimensional accumulation array;
for each of the plurality of accumulation cells, generating a projection ray extending through the accumulation cell and through the digital test image, each projection ray being parallel to the boundary delineation and non-parallel relative to the edge of the digital test image;
loading each accumulation cell of the one-dimensional accumulation array with an accumulated pixel value, the accumulated pixel value being based on pixel values sampled from each of a plurality of sampling locations equally spaced along the projection ray; and
deriving the modulation transfer function or the spatial frequency response of the imaging system from the one-dimensional accumulation array.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Birchfield Stanley T

Classifications

• H04N17/002

  for television cameras · CPC title

• G01J1/4257

  applied to monitoring the characteristics of a beam, e.g. laser beam, headlamp beam (monitoring arrangements for lasers in general H01S3/0014) · CPC title

• G01M11/0292 Primary

  of objectives by measuring the optical modulation transfer function (photometry G01J) · CPC title

• G01M11/0264

  by using targets or reference patterns · CPC title