Blurring a digital image

Abstract

A method is disclosed for processing at least a portion of an input digital image comprising rows of pixels extending in two mutually perpendicular directions over a 2D field. The method comprises defining a kernel for processing an image, the kernel comprising at least one row of contiguous elements of the same non-zero value (such rows being referred to herein as equal-valued kernel regions), the equal-valued kernel regions, if more than one, extending parallel to one another. For each pixel in at least selected parallel rows of pixels within the image portion, the cumulative sum of the pixel is calculated by adding a value of the pixel to the sum of all preceding pixel values in the same row of the image portion. The kernel is convolved with the image portion at successive kernel positions relative to the image portion such that each pixel in each selected row is a target pixel for a respective kernel position. For each kernel position, the convolving is performed, for each equal-valued kernel region, by calculating the difference between the cumulative sum of the pixel corresponding to the last element in the equal-valued kernel region and the cumulative sum of the pixel corresponding to the element immediately preceding the first element in the region, and summing the differences for all equal-valued kernel regions. The differences sum is scaled to provide a processed target pixel value.