Photographing for dual-lens device using photographing environment determined using depth estimation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9973672-B2
Application number	US-201315102203-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 6, 2013
Priority date	Dec 6, 2013
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

A photographing method for a dual-lens device may include acquiring a first image collected at a first moment by a first image sensor and a second image collected at the first moment by a second image sensor; performing scene recognition on the first image and/or the second image, and performing depth estimation on the first image and the second image to determine a photographing environment; and when an instruction for a photographing operation is received, generating a picture using the multi-frame algorithm. When photographing is performed using a multi-frame algorithm, two frames of images can be collected at the same time using a dual-lens device, which can reduce impact caused by a jitter of the device or a motion of a target object, so that ghost detection and an elimination algorithm are not required, thereby reducing a photographing time.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A photographing method for a dual-lens device, wherein the dual-lens device comprises a first lens and a second lens that are disposed on a same plane of the dual-lens device, the photographing method comprising:
acquiring a first image collected at a first moment by a first image sensor corresponding to the first lens and a second image collected at the first moment by a second image sensor corresponding to the second lens;
determining whether a photographing environment is a night scene by performing scene recognition on at least one of the first image and the second image;
when the photographing environment is the night scene, determining that a multi-frame algorithm is a multi-frame noise reduction algorithm;
when the photographing environment is not the night scene:
performing depth estimation on the first image and the second image;
determining, based on the depth estimation performed on the first image and the second image, that the photographing environment comprises at least one of a first scene having a depth of field characteristic, a second scene having a dynamic range characteristic and a distance characteristic, and a third scene having a level of details characteristic and the distance characteristic; and
determining the multi-frame algorithm according to whether the photographing environment corresponds to the first scene, the second scene, or the third scene;

subsequent to determining the photographing environment, receiving an instruction for a photographing operation; and
synthesizing a third image and a fourth image using the multi-frame algorithm to generate a picture when the instruction for the photographing operation is received.

2. The photographing method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the multi-frame algorithm according to the photographing environment comprises determining that the multi-frame algorithm is an extended depth of field (EDOF) algorithm when the photographing environment is the first scene.

3. The photographing method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the multi-frame algorithm according to the photographing environment further comprises determining that the multi-frame algorithm is a high dynamic range (HDR) algorithm when the photographing environment is the second scene.

4. The photographing method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the multi-frame algorithm according to the photographing environment further comprises determining that the multi-frame algorithm is a super-resolution algorithm when the photographing environment is the third scene.

5. The photographing method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining, based on the scene recognition, that the photographing environment is a fourth scene having a width characteristic, a fifth scene having the dynamic range characteristic, or a sixth scene having the level of details characteristic, wherein the depth estimation is performed when the photographing environment is not the night scene and the photographing environment corresponds to the fourth scene, the fifth scene, or the sixth scene.

6. The photographing method according to claim 1 , further comprising generating a picture according to the first image or the second image when the photographing environment is not any one of the night scene, the first scene, the second scene, and the third scene, and when the instruction for the photographing operation is received.

7. A dual-lens device, comprising:
a first lens and a second lens that are disposed on a same plane of the dual-lens device;
a first image sensor corresponding to the first lens, wherein the first image sensor is configured to collect a first image at a first moment using the first lens;
a second image sensor corresponding to the second lens, wherein the second image sensor is configured to collect a second image at the first moment using the second lens; and
a processor coupled to the first and second image sensors and configured to:
acquire the first image collected at the first moment by the first image sensor and the second image collected at the first moment by the second image sensor;
determine whether a photographing environment is a night scene by performing scene recognition on at least one of the first image and the second image;
when the photographing environment is the night scene, determine that a multi-frame algorithm is a multi-frame noise reduction algorithm;
when the photographing environment is not the night scene:
perform depth estimation on the first image and the second image;
determine, based on the depth estimation performed on the first image and the second image, that the photographing environment comprises at least one of a first scene having a depth of field characteristic, a second scene having a dynamic range characteristic and a distance characteristic, and a third scene having a level of details characteristic and the distance characteristic; and
determine the multi-frame algorithm according to whether the photographing environment corresponds to the first scene, the second scene, or the third scene;

subsequent to determining the photographing environment, receiving an instruction for a photographing operation; and
synthesize a third image and a fourth image using the multi-frame algorithm to generate a picture when the instruction for the photographing operation is received.

8. The dual-lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the multi-frame algorithm is an extended depth of field (EDOF) algorithm when the photographing environment is the first scene.

9. The dual-lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the multi-frame algorithm is a high dynamic range (HDR) algorithm when the photographing environment is the second scene.

10. The dual-lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the multi-frame algorithm is a super-resolution algorithm when the photographing environment is the third scene.

11. The dual-lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine, based on the scene recognition, that the photographing environment is a fourth scene having a width characteristic, a fifth scene having the dynamic range characteristic, or a sixth scene having the level of details characteristic, wherein the depth estimation is performed when the photographing environment is not the night scene and the photographing environment corresponds to the fourth scene, the fifth scene, or the sixth scene.

12. The dual-lens device according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate a picture according to the first image or the second image when the photographing environment is not any one of the night scene, the first scene, the second scene, and the third scene, and when the instruction for the photographing operation is received.

13. A photographing method for a dual-lens device, wherein the dual-lens device comprises a first lens and a second lens, the method comprising:
acquiring a first image collected by a first image sensor corresponding to the first lens and a second image collected by a second image sensor corresponding to the second lens;
determining whether a photographing environment is a night scene by performing scene recognition on at least one of the first image and the second image;
when the photographing environment is the night scene, determining that a multi-frame algorithm is a multi-frame noise reduction algorithm;
when the photographing environment is not the night scene:
performing depth estimation on

Assignees

• Huawei Device Dongguan Co Ltd

Inventors

• Du Cheng
• Deng Bin
• Luo Wei

Classifications

• H04N23/698

  for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture · CPC title

• H04N23/45 Primary

  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

• H04N23/741

  by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors · CPC title

• G03B15/00 Primary

  Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor · CPC title

• H04N23/81

  for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation · CPC title