IP Library › Granted Patent US 12664692

Granted Patent B2

US 12664692 · App. 18/562,592 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Image processing device and method

Inventor: Hidetomo Hirao (Kanagawa, JP)

Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation

G06T9/00 G06V10/14

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12664692
App. No.: 18/562,592
Granted: Jun 23, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an image processing device and method capable of suppressing a drop in encoding efficiency. By reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic, according to the optical characteristics including at least the polarization angle characteristic of the incident light, a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same is generated; and the generated polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image is encoded. The present disclosure can be applied to, for example, an image processing device, an encoding device, a decoding device, an electronic device, an image processing method, a program, or the like.

Claims (75)

1 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic, according to the optical characteristics including at least the polarization angle characteristic of the incident light and a transmission wavelength characteristic that is a wavelength characteristic of the incident light;

generating a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same;

generating a transmission wavelength characteristic reconfiguration image constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of the transmission wavelength characteristic are the same by reconfiguring the RAW image according to the transmission wavelength characteristic;

generating the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image by reconfiguring the transmission wavelength characteristic reconfiguration image according to the polarization angle characteristic; and

encoding the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.

2 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

encoding a plurality of the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration images in an order based on characteristic values of the transmission wavelength characteristic.

3 . An image processing device, comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

encoding the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image using prediction that utilizes intra-image correlation or inter-image correlation.

4 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

generating a transmission wavelength characteristic grid point reconfiguration image constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of the transmission wavelength characteristic are the same and that have same positions in a row direction or a column direction of the pixel array by reconfiguring the RAW image according to the transmission wavelength characteristic and the positions of the pixels;

generating the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image by reconfiguring the transmission wavelength characteristic grid point reconfiguration image according to the polarization angle characteristic; and

encoding the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.

5 . The image processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the operations further comprising:

encoding a plurality of the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration images in an order based on characteristic values of the transmission wavelength characteristic.

6 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

by reconfiguring the RAW image according to intra-block positions that are pixel positions within a pixel block constituted by a predetermined number of the pixels having a plurality of types of light reception sensitivities, generating an intra-block position reconfiguration image constituted by pixel values of the pixels having same ones of the intra-block positions;

generating the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image by reconfiguring the intra-block reconfiguration image according to the polarization angle characteristic; and

encoding the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.

7 . The image processing device according to claim 6 , wherein the operations further comprise:

encoding a plurality of the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration images in an order based on the light reception sensitivities.

8 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

decoding encoded data to generate a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image, the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being obtained by reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic and a transmission wavelength characteristic that is a wavelength characteristic of the incident light, according to the different optical characteristics, and the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same;

according to the polarization angle characteristic, reconfiguring the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image that has been obtained by decoding the encoded data and that has been reconfigured according to optical characteristics including the polarization angle characteristic and the transmission wavelength characteristic;

performing development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image after it is subjected to the reconfiguring.

9 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

decoding encoded data to generate a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image, the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being obtained by reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic, according to the optical characteristics including at least the polarization angle characteristic of the incident light, and the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same;

performing development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image; and

performing processing for reducing noise on a post-development image generated by performing the development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.

10 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

decoding encoded data to generate a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image, the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being obtained by reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic, according to the optical characteristics including at least the polarization angle characteristic of the incident light, and the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same;

performing development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image; and

enlarging or reducing a post-development image generated by performing the development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.

11 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

decoding encoded data to generate a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image, the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being obtained by reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic, according to the optical characteristics including at least the polarization angle characteristic of the incident light, and the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same; and

performing development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image, wherein

the optical characteristics further include a transmission wavelength characteristic that is a wavelength characteristic of the incident light, and

the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image is an image obtained by reconfiguring the RAW image according to the transmission wavelength characteristic and positions of the pixels, and further reconfiguring the reconfigured RAW image according to the polarization angle characteristic.

12 . The image processing device according to claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:

performing wavelength expansion processing on a post-development image generated by performing the development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.

13 . An image processing device comprising:

a memory storing a program, and

at least one processor configured to execute the program to perform operations comprising:

decoding encoded data to generate a polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image, the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being obtained by reconfiguring a RAW image, the RAW image being an output of a sensor having a pixel array constituted by a plurality of types of pixels each detecting incident light having different optical characteristics including at least a polarization angle characteristic, according to the optical characteristics including at least the polarization angle characteristic of the incident light, and the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image being constituted by pixel values of the pixels that have detected the incident light for which characteristic values of at least the polarization angle characteristic are the same; and

performing development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image,

wherein the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image is an image obtained by reconfiguring the RAW image according to intra-block positions that are pixel positions within a pixel block constituted by a predetermined number of the pixels having a plurality of types of light reception sensitivities, and further reconfiguring the reconfigured RAW image according to the polarization angle characteristic.

14 . The image processing device according to claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:

performing focus processing based on a post-development image generated by performing the development processing on the polarization angle characteristic reconfiguration image.