IP Library Granted Patent US 9,008,453
Granted Patent B2
US 9,008,453 · App. 13/926,756 · Granted Apr 14, 2015

Blur-kernel estimation from spectral irregularities

Inventors: Raanan Fattal (Jerusalem, IL); Amit Goldstein (Tel Aviv, IL)
Assignee: Yissum Research Development Company of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd.
G06T5/003G06T5/20
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,008,453
App. No.
13/926,756
Granted
Apr 14, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method for deriving a blur kernel from a blurred image is provided herein. The method may include the following steps: obtaining a blurred image B, being a product of a blur kernel k applied to an original image I; calculating f θ (x)=R d*Pθ(B) (x) for every angle θ, wherein R denotes an autocorrelation operator, P θ denotes a projection operator of based on angle θ, and d denotes a one dimensional differentiation filter; estimating spectral power of the blur kernel based on a given support parameter; estimating the blur kernel k using a phase retrieval algorithm, based on the estimated spectral power of the blur kernel; updating the support parameters; and repeating the estimating of the spectral power, the estimating of the kernel and the updating of the support parameters in an iterative, to yield the blur kernel.

Claims (43)

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a blurred image B, being a product of a blur kernel k applied to an original image I, wherein B and I are matrices representing pixel image arrays and k is a kernel of a matrix;

calculating f θ (x)=R d*Pθ(B) (x) for every angle θ, wherein R denotes an autocorrelation operator, P θ denotes a projection operator of a two dimensional signal into one dimension based on angle θ, and d denotes a one dimensional differentiation filter applied to a product of the projection operator P θ and the blurred image B;

setting support parameters s θ to argmin x f θ (x);

estimating |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 denoting a spectral power of the blur kernel based on a given support parameter;

estimating the blur kernel k using a phase retrieval algorithm, based on the estimated spectral power of the blur kernel |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 ;

updating the support parameters s θ to argmax x (R Pθ(k) (x)>a·max(R Pθ(k) )), wherein a is constant number; and

repeating the estimating of the spectral power |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 , the estimating of the kernel and the updating of the support parameters s θ in an expectation maximization (EM) procedure, to yield the blur kernel k.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the projection operator P θ is achieved by integrating the two dimensional signal along a direction orthogonal to the angle θ.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein blur kernel k represents the blur operation which transforms I to B due to movements of a capturing device upon capturing the blurred image.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein I is a natural image captured by an image capturing device.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the angles θ are selected so that each selected angle corresponds with a pixel of the pixel array.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising using the retrieved blur kernel k to retrieve the original image.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a is between 0 and 1.

8. A system comprising:

A computer memory configured to obtain a blurred image B, being a product of a blur kernel k applied to an original image I, wherein B and I are matrices representing pixel image arrays and k is a kernel of a matrix; and

a computer processor configured to:

(a) calculate f θ (x)=R d*Pθ(B) (x) for every angle θ, wherein R denotes an autocorrelation operator, P θ denotes a projection operator of a two dimensional signal into one dimension based on angle θ, and d denotes a one dimensional differentiation filter applied to a product of the projection operator P θ and the blurred image B;

(b) set support parameters s θ to argmin x f θ (x);

(c) estimate |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 denoting a spectral power of the blur kernel based on a given support parameter;

(d) estimate the blur kernel k using a phase retrieval algorithm, based on the estimated spectral power of the blur kernel |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 ;

(e) updating the support parameters s θ to argmax x (R Pθ(k) (x)>a·max(R Pθ(k) )), wherein a is constant number; and

(f) repeat the estimating of the spectral power |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 , the estimating of the kernel and the updating of the support parameters s θ in an expectation maximization (EM) procedure, to yield the blur kernel k.

9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the projection operator P θ is achieved by integrating the two dimensional signal along a direction orthogonal to the angle θ.

10. The system according to claim 8 , wherein blur kernel k represents the blur operation which transforms I to B due to movements of a capturing device upon capturing the blurred image.

11. The system according to claim 8 , wherein I is a natural image captured by an image capturing device.

12. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the angles θ are selected so that each selected angle corresponds with a pixel of the pixel array.

13. The system according to claim 8 , further comprising using the retrieved blur kernel k to retrieve the original image.

14. The system according to claim 8 , wherein a is between 0 and 1.

15. A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program embodied therewith, the computer readable program comprising:

computer readable program configured to obtain a blurred image B, being a product of a blur kernel k applied to an original image I, wherein B and I are matrices representing pixel image arrays and k is a kernel of a matrix;

computer readable program configured to calculate f θ (x)=R d*Pθ(B) (x) for every angle θ, wherein R denotes an autocorrelation operator, P θ denotes a projection operator of a two dimensional signal into one dimension based on angle θ, and d denotes a one dimensional differentiation filter applied to a product of the projection operator P θ and the blurred image B;

computer readable program configured to set support parameters s θ to argmin x f θ (x);

computer readable program configured to estimate |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 denoting a spectral power of the blur kernel based on a given support parameter;

computer readable program configured to estimate the blur kernel k using a phase retrieval algorithm, based on the estimated spectral power of the blur kernel |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 ;

computer readable program configured to updating the support parameters s θ to argmax x (R Pθ(k) (x)>a·max(R Pθ(k) )), wherein a is constant number; and

computer readable program configured to repeat the estimating of the spectral power |{circumflex over (k)}| 2 , the estimating of the kernel and the updating of the support parameters s θ in an expectation maximization (EM) procedure, to yield the blur kernel k.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15 , wherein the projection operator P θ is achieved by integrating the two dimensional signal along a direction orthogonal to the angle θ.

17. The computer program product according to claim 15 , wherein blur kernel k represents the blur operation which transforms I to B due to movements of a capturing device upon capturing the blurred image.

18. The computer program product according to claim 15 , wherein I is a natural image captured by an image capturing device.

19. The computer program product according to claim 15 , wherein the angles θ are selected so that each selected angle corresponds with a pixel of the pixel array.

20. The computer program product according to claim 15 , further comprising computer readable program configured to use the retrieved blur kernel k to retrieve the original image.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 10, 2019
From: STEPPING STONE, SERIES 85 OF ALLIED SECURITY TRUST I
To: JOLLY SEVEN, SERIES 70 OF ALLIED SECURITY TRUST I
Reel/Frame 049416/0975 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 19, 2018
From: YISSUM RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT COMPANY OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM LTD.
To: STEPPING STONE, SERIES 85 OF ALLIED SECURITY TRUST I
Reel/Frame 047924/0090 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 28, 2013
From: FATTAL, RAANAN; GOLDSTEIN, AMIT
To: YISSUM RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT COMPANY OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM LTD.
Reel/Frame 031095/0473 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 61663747 · Jun 25, 2012
Related Publication 20130343669A1 · Dec 26, 2013