IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,100,194
Granted Patent B1
US 12,100,194 · App. 17/356,642 · Granted Sep 24, 2024

Image enhancement

Inventors: Praveen Gowda Ippadi Veerabhadre Gowda (San Jose, CA); Mohammad Haris Baig (San Jose, CA); Quinton L. Petty (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
G06V10/60G01S17/89G06F3/012G06T7/33G06T7/521G06T19/003
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,100,194
App. No.
17/356,642
Granted
Sep 24, 2024
Kind
B1
Abstract

Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that enhance an image based on depth and/or other sensor data. For example, an example process may include obtaining an image of a physical environment from a first sensor, each pixel of the image corresponding to an amount of light, obtaining depth data of the physical environment via a second sensor, and enhancing the image based on the depth sensor data.

Claims (56)

1. A method comprising:

at an electronic device having a processor:

obtaining an image of a physical environment from a first sensor, each pixel of the image corresponding to an amount of light;

obtaining depth data of the physical environment via a second sensor;

determining reflectivity data of at least a portion of the physical environment based on the depth data;

determining that an amount of ambient light in the obtained image is less than a sufficiency threshold based on ambient light sensor data;

based on the amount of ambient light in the obtained image being less than the sufficiency threshold, determining to utilize an image enhancement algorithm; and

utilizing the image enhancement algorithm to enhance the obtained image by changing an intensity value or color value of one or more pixels of the obtained image based on the depth data and the determined reflectivity data of the at least the portion of the physical environment.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a reflectivity pattern of the physical environment from the second sensor or another sensor; and

enhancing the image based on the reflectivity pattern.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor is a LIDAR sensor that acquires the depth data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image from the first sensor comprises first image data, the method further comprising:

obtaining second image data from at least one other sensor; and

aligning, based on the depth data, the first image data from the first sensor and the second image data from the at least one other sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a machine learning model enhances the image based on the depth data, the reflectivity data, and ambient light data.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the amount of ambient light in the obtained image is based on obtaining ambient light data from an ambient light sensor (ALS) of the physical environment, the ambient light data corresponding to diffuse light received by the ALS in the physical environment, the physical environment comprising a light source; and enhancing the image based on the ambient light data.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining a type of light source for the light source in the physical environment based on the ambient light data; and

enhancing the image based on the type of light source.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is captured in low ambient light conditions, wherein enhancing the image comprises brightening or adding color to one or more of the pixels of the image.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a three-dimensional (3D) representation of the physical environment that was generated based on the depth data and image data from the enhanced image, wherein the 3D representation is associated with 3D semantic data;

determining locations of objects in the physical environment based on the 3D representation; and

providing pedestrian navigation to a user based on the 3D representation and the locations of the objects in the physical environment.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining a relative pose of a head of the user; and

providing spatialized audio feedback to the pedestrian for the locations of the objects based on the relative pose of a head of the user.

11. A device comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

one or more processors coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprises program instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

obtaining an image of a physical environment from a first sensor, each pixel of the image corresponding to an amount of light;

obtaining depth data of the physical environment via a second sensor;

determining reflectivity data of at least a portion of the physical environment based on the depth data;

determining that an amount of ambient light in the obtained image is less than a sufficiency threshold based on ambient light sensor data;

based on the amount of ambient light in the obtained image being less than the sufficiency threshold, determining to utilize an image enhancement algorithm; and

utilizing the image enhancement algorithm to enhance the obtained image by changing an intensity value or color value of one or more pixels of the obtained image based on the depth data and the determined reflectivity data of the at least the portion of the physical environment.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to perform operations further comprising:

determining a reflectivity pattern of the physical environment from the second sensor or another sensor; and

enhancing the image based on the reflectivity pattern.

13. The device of claim 11 , wherein the image from the first sensor comprises first image data, and wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to perform operations further comprising:

obtaining second image data from at least one other sensor; and

aligning, based on the depth data, the first image data from the first sensor and the second image data from the at least one other sensor.

14. The device of claim 11 , wherein a machine learning model enhances the image based on the depth data, the reflectivity data, and ambient light data.

15. The device of claim 11 , wherein determining the amount of ambient light in the obtained image is based on obtaining ambient light data from an ambient light sensor (ALS) of the physical environment, the ambient light data corresponding to diffuse light received by the ALS in the physical environment, the physical environment comprising a light source.

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to perform operations further comprising:

determining a type of light source for the light source in the physical environment based on the ambient light data; and

enhancing the image based on the type of light source.

17. The device of claim 11 , the image is captured in low ambient light conditions, wherein enhancing the image comprises brightening or adding color to one or more of the pixels of the image.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing computer-executable program instructions on a computer to perform operations comprising:

obtaining an image of a physical environment from a first sensor, each pixel of the image corresponding to an amount of light;

obtaining depth data of the physical environment via a second sensor;

determining reflectivity data of at least a portion of the physical environment based on the depth data;

determining that an amount of ambient light in the obtained image is less than a sufficiency threshold based on ambient light sensor data;

based on the amount of ambient light in the obtained image being less than the sufficiency threshold, determining to utilize an image enhancement algorithm; and

utilizing the image enhancement algorithm to enhance the obtained image by changing an intensity value or color value of one or more pixels of the obtained image based on the depth data and the determined reflectivity data of the at least the portion of the physical environment.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 24, 2021
From: GOWDA, PRAVEEN GOWDA IPPADI VEERABHADRE; BAIG, MOHAMMAD HARIS; PETTY, QUINTON L.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 056649/0922 →
Continuity (1)
Provisional Application 63051462 · Jul 14, 2020
Cited By (2)
US 12,561,840 US 12,602,831