Apple Inc.

Aptina Imaging Corporation

Juanqing Chen

Xuemei Zhang

Yingjun Bai

Paul M Hubel

Farhan A Baqai

Todd Stephen Sachs

Marius Tico

George E Williams

Dongqing Cao

Fabio Riccardi

Qun Sun

Yongfang Liang

Systems, methods, and computer readable media for the use of a metric whose value is especially sensitive to the information lost when an image's pixels are clipped are disclosed. The metric may be used as an image's score, where higher values are indicative of lost highlight information (more clipped pixels). One use of the disclosed metric would be to determine when the use of high dynamic range (HDR) techniques are appropriate. The disclosed metric may also be used to bias a scene's exposure value (EV) such as to a lower or underexposed value (EV&#x2212;) so that the scene may be captured with no more than an acceptable number of clipped pixels.

Highlight exposure metric and its applications

Systems, methods, and computer readable media to capture and process high dynamic range (HDR) images when appropriate for a scene are disclosed. When appropriate, multiple images at a single&#x2014;slightly underexposed&#x2014;exposure value are captured (making a constant bracket HDR capture sequence) and local tone mapping (LTM) applied to each image. Local tone map and histogram information can be used to generate a noise-amplification mask which can be used during fusion operations. Images obtained and fused in the disclosed manner provide high dynamic range with improved noise and de-ghosting characteristics.

Constant bracket high dynamic range (cHDR) operations

An array camera may be formed from an array of lenses, an array of corresponding apertures, and an array of corresponding image sensors. The array of apertures may be configured so that some image sensors receive light through apertures of different size than other image sensors. Providing apertures of smaller size increases the F/# of an array camera and increases the depth-of-field in a captured image. The array of image sensors may include a near-infrared image sensor. Providing an image sensor array with a near-infrared image sensor may enhance depth information in captured images or increase night vision capabilities of an array camera. Combining an array of image sensors that includes a near-infrared sensor with an array of apertures having different aperture diameters may allow increased depth-of-field imaging, enhanced extraction of depth information from an image, improved night vision, enhanced image clarity or other improvements.

Imaging devices having arrays of image sensors and lenses with multiple aperture sizes

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Juanqing Chen