MXPA05012149A - System and method for processing raw image files - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and related techniques provide a uniform abstraction layer for accessing and manipulating Raw image files, with the necessity for proprietary application tools. According to embodiments inone regard, an operating system or other platform may expose a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) to general purpose image processing, photo album, printing or other applications through which a Raw API layer may be accessed. That layer may in turn communicate via a set of Raw codecs or other protocols or channels with a hardware-specific Raw plugin layer, which may host a set of Raw format specifications supplied, for instance, by digital still camera manufacturers or other vendors. Those hardware-specific, low-level specifications may specify or encapsulate, for example, the Raw container or file format, Raw file metadata, thumbnail representations or other details for individual Raw formats. Because the necessary Raw translation is abstracted to the operating system or othe r platform, diverse applications may seamlessly use Raw image files from a variety of camera and other manufacturers, without a need for proprietary tools. Users may therefore gain access to the highest possible resolution representation of image data captured by a given imaging device, transparently and without a need to switch tools between different manufacturers'cameras or devices.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING UNCASHED IMAGE FILES CROSS REFERENCE WITH RELATED REQUEST Not applicable. DECLARATION REGARDING RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT WITH FEDERAL AUSPICIO Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the field of image processing and, more particularly, to systems and methods for accessing and manipulating unprocessed image files, such as unprocessed digital still camera information, from within an architecture. extendable, ench ufe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The proliferation of comparatively high resolution digital imaging devices, such as digital instant cameras, has led to the search for manipulation, printing and other products and other tools for higher resolution photos. In general, the digital cameras capture images using loaded storage devices (CCDs), or other sensors in the so-called Raw format, which represents the data gathered at the lowest level of hardware that the device is capable of generating. Since most or all of the tools for image processing and other applications and utilities require image information to be formatted in a higher order format, such as for example 24 bit RG B information (Red, Green, Blue), the Most or all digital cameras include digital signal processing or other intelligence to convert unprocessed sensor data into processed or rapidly produced files, such as J PEG (Empalme Photographic Expert Group) or other formatted files. However, the expanding digital imaging market has recognized that raw image files generated by digital cameras and other devices represent an opportunity to extract the highest possible level of device detail. Certain manufacturers of digital cameras have developed proprietary software, for example, which will go with their respective cameras and other products to extract the raw image files of the device, so that they can be generated, for example representations of small review of the files of Raw image, or other processing may take place on that high resolution information. However, the difficulties in processing Raw images remain. For some, almost all device manufacturers employ a different raw file specification, so that software and tools designed for a group of manufacturer's products are practically, as a rule, incompatible with those of other vendors. For others, due to the diversity, and typically proprietary nature of raw image formats used by various manufacturers, an operating system or application can not in general provide the same services and functions to a user as with other encoded image formats more standardized For example, the operating system or application will typically be unable to allow a user to browse, view or manipulate Raw image files, for example, in a directory, since these files and their metadata may be opaque to the platform. A vendor of operating systems or applications could try to invest or "break" the Raw format of several manufacturers, but the number of possible formats, the need to update the track for those formats and other obstacles prevent it from being a practical possibility. There are other problems in Raw image management.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention which overcomes these and other problems of the art relates in one aspect to a system and method for processing Raw image files, in which the access and manipulation of raw image files is abstracted in a aspect to an application programming interface (API) layer in an operating system or other platform. According to embodiments of the invention in one aspect, a specific hardware exchange or plug-in layer or hardware can be used in the operating system or other support platform, where independent hardware vendors or other vendors can register raw file or container specifications, conversion protocols of image and other functionalities or routines compatible with the vendor-specific Raw form and content. According to embodiments of the invention in one aspect, general purpose applications such as image processing, photo album, printing or other programs or applications can thus go to Raw interfaces exposed by the extended set of APIs, and access and extraction of Raw image files without having to invoke any special or dedicated purpose application software tied only to a given device manufacturer. The applications can thus access, extract, view, manipulate and exchange image files that reflect the full measure of resolution and detail generated by a camera or other image device, in a consistent and uniform manner, in a transparent manner for the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates an environment in which a system and method for processing raw image files can operate, according to the embodiments of the invention. Figure 2 illustrates the image capture of an image detector to a corresponding raw file, according to the embodiments of the invention. Figure 3 illustrates an application programming interface and corresponding resources for processing Raw image files, according to the embodiments of the invention.

Figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram of global Raw image processing, according to the embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MODALITIES Figure 1 illustrates a global environment in which a system and method for processing raw image files can operate, according to the embodiments of the invention. As illustrated in that figure, a picture device 108 such as a digital snapshot camera, a digital video camera, a scanner, a cell phone equipped with a camera or personal digital assistant (PDA), or other power device or hardware You can capture images electronically. According to the embodiments of the invention in one aspect, the image device 108 can generate a file 1 10 of Raw images or Raw image information that reflects the image captured at the lowest level of the hardware activity, generally representing the unaltered information generated by or printed on the embedded sensors of the device 108 for images, by itself. In the case of a digital camera, the sensors of the image device 108 can be or include electro-optical sensors, such as charged coupled devices (CCDs). In general and as illustrated, the image device 108 can generate the raw image file 1 10 and communicate that file to a client 102, such as a personal computer, for extraction, manipulation and processing. The client 102 may have a user interface 104, such as a graphical user interface, a text line or command interface, an interface that includes audio input and output, or other interfaces. In the embodiments, the image device 108 can communicate the raw image file 1 1 0 to the client 102, for example to store that file or encode converted files from that file to the warehouse 1 06, which can be or include a Hard drive store, optical store or other warehouse or medium. As illustrated in greater detail for example in Figure 2, in the embodiments the picture device 108 may contain a sensor 12, such as a CCD array which, for example, can be filtered optically by colored lenses. . The sensor 1 12, similarly, may be or include other optical or electronic sensing components, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector arrays, or Foveon® type sensor arrays. Other sensors or other technology can be used. In the modes, in general the sensor 1 12 of the image device 108 can generate the raw image file 10 or other data by reading the sensor voltage or other levels of the CCD sensor, CMOS or other image capture device, such readings. they can be, for example, digitized in 8 bit, 12 bit, 16 bit or other values for each pixel or color component of a pixel. Depending on the implementation, the values of the color component or digitized pixel can be stored in addition in 24 bit, 48 bit or other RGB or other files. The raw image file 1 10 may also, in the embodiments, contain a spindle structure having fields, for example, indicating the size of the file, the manufacturer's identification, the type of sensor or other data or metadata. In the embodiments, the 108 image device may contain a menu or other option for capturing and storing images in Raw or other formats, depending on the user's preference for a given shot or series of images. The file 1 10 of Raw images or constituent data can thus represent in one aspect the highest possible resolution data that the image device 108 is capable of generating, keeping the last processed data representing the image printed on the sensor 1 12 for a given image or exposure. However, in general, application software such as image editing, photo album or photo-storing, file browser or other related images or other products may not be able to access, open, display or manipulate the file 1 10 of the raw image due to the proprietary format of that scheme, particularly since the manufacturer of each image device 108 may specify different file characteristics for their respective image platforms. According to embodiments of the invention in a further aspect, therefore, and, for example, as illustrated in Figure 3, a raw image processing platform can be implemented which, generally speaking, provides a layer of abstraction between general-purpose applications and Raw image conversion intelligence, to allow perfect access to a diverse set of Raw image files. More specifically, in the illustrated modes, the client 102, an operating system operating on that client, or another platform or resource can introduce a layer 1 18 API Raw that communicates with applications and other resources, to facilitate a set of functions and Modular or extensible services with those applications or other resources can invoke to access and manipulate Raw image files. In the embodiments of the invention in one aspect, the API Raw layer 1 may reside at the operating system level, such as in the Microsoft Windows ™ family of operating systems, and communicate with a specific hardware raw plug layer 122. . Raw hardware specific plug layer 122 can be or include a set of specifications for raw file, Raw data and other formats or structures. In the embodiments, the specific hardware raw plug layer 122, for example, can be independently provided by respective hardware manufacturers to ensure compatible access to the raw image file 10 or other output generated by those cameras or other device of the manufacturer. . Raw hardware specific plug layer 122 may contain, for example, specifications for raw file formats or containers, including formats or specifications or formats for image metadata, small image representations of raw images, embedded images or other objects, data or functions. The specific hardware Raw plug layer 122 may similarly contain specifications, codes or procedures for executing functions or information for raw image processing, such as inputs with parameters or full fidelity RGB image output. Other data, formats and functions are possible. In the embodiments of the invention in one aspect, the API Raw layer 1 may communicate with the specific hardware Raw plug layer 122 via a set of Raw 120 codes, or other encoder / decoder or other resources, channels or protocols. According to the embodiments of the invention, in one aspect, the API Raw layer 1 18 can expose a set of handling, processing and other Raw image file functions to a set of applications 1 14 via an interface 1 16 Raw, to allow general purpose image processing applications to invoke those routines or functions to access one or more raw image files 1 10 from different sources, without prior knowledge of the content or format of those files. Those functions, for example, can be presented or made available to the user of the client 102 or another device by means of icons that can be activated or selected or drop-down menus from image processing or other applications, or through functions or operating system resources such as file or directory navigation tools, printing tools or other accessories or resources. The functions and capabilities that are available for the set of applications 1 14 as well as the operating system and other resources can be or include, for example, small review generation, view or extraction functions, tools or functions for high vision resolution, tools or resources for extracting metadata, functions for decoding complete Raw information, or other functions, tools or resources. For example, the Raw file conversion functions, such as converting an original 1 10 raw image file to a PG J, a tagged image format file (TIFF), bitmap (BMP), graphic image format ( GIF), portable network graphics (PNG) or other formats or files, can be provided or supported, to allow, for example, the retouching of photos or other manipulations of the Raw file information in one of those encoded formats. The raw image file 10, any converted file or information, or other content may be stored, for example, in the store 106 through the application suite 14, by the operating system or otherwise. The user of the set of applications 1 14 or of the operating system, however, need not be involved with switching from a dedicated application or tool or special purpose, depending on the manufacturer of a given image device 108. Rather, provided that the specifications and information related to the raw file for a given image device 108 is registered with the specific hardware raw plug layer 122, according to the invention, any associated image processing or application can access and manipulate any 1 1 0 raw image file, in a manner transparent to the user. The specifications of the raw file for the specific hardware raw plug layer 1 22, for example, can be loaded, registered or started on the client 1 02 and / or its operating system by means of a load from CD- ROM or other means of storage, by download via the Internet network or other network, or via other means or channels. Figure 4 illustrates the overall processing of Raw image, according to the embodiments of the invention. In step 402, processing can begin. In step 404, the raw image information can be captured in an image device 1 08, such as a digital camera, a digital video camera, a scanner or other image or power device. In step 406, a specific hardware raw plug layer 1 22 can be loaded, installed or accessed, for example by installing or registering in an operating system or other platform, or accessing a plug layer already installed or registered for a system operative or another platform, for example in a client 1 02 or another machine. In step 408, the raw image file 1 1 0 which results from the image capture can be transmitted to a client 1 02 or another host, machine or destination. In step 41 0, you can start, access, or execute one or more of a set of applications 1 14, operating system functions, or other programs, for example, that start a general-purpose image editing suite, photo album , printing program, small review directory service or other application or function. In step 412, a layer 1 1 8 of API Raw can be invoked, for example via a call of the application set 1 1 4, of the functions of the operating system, or other programs or objects of initiation. In step 414, the information in the raw image file 1 10 can be accessed or decoded via the raw API layer 18, for example by using Raw codes 120 or other decoding logic. For example, the color or intensity values of the sensors in the image device 108 can be read. In step 416, the information contained in the file 1 10 of Raw image can be communicated or passed to the set of applications 1 14, to the functions or resources of the operating system, or other programs via layer 1 18 of API Raw, and the sockets 1 16 unprocessed as appropriate. In step 418, the raw image information extracted from the raw image file 1 10 can be processed or manipulated, for example to generate a set of small review representations of the contents of the raw image file 1 10, for a preview of a job to print the contents of the raw image file 1 10, or perform other tasks or functions. In step 420, the processed information can be stored or converted, for example to generate a J PG, TIFF, BMP or other encoded image file. In step 422, the processing can be repeated, returned to a previous processing point, skipped to a later processing point or terminated. The foregoing description of the invention is illustrative, and modifications to the configuration and implementation will occur to persons skilled in the art. For example, although the invention has been generally described in terms of extracting and processing a raw image file 10 representing the output of a digital snapshot camera, in the embodiments the source of the raw image file 10 may be another equipment or sources, such as, for example, a scanning device, a digital video device or other sensors or devices. Similarly, although the invention has, in the embodiments that have been described as employing a specific hardware raw plug layer 122 which is housed by, or registered with, an operating system, in embodiments the raw plug layer 122 of specific hardware can be installed or embedded in other levels, layers or resources of the client 102 or another host machine. Other hardware, software or other resources described as singular, in the modalities, can be distributed, and similarly in the modalities the resources described as distributed can be combined. The scope of the invention, therefore, is intended to be limited only by the following claims.

Claims (39)

1. CLAIMS 1. A system for processing raw image data, comprising: a power interface for receiving raw image information generated by an image sensor; and an abstraction layer, the abstraction layer communicating with a set of raw image frames that correspond to a set of image sensors to access the raw image information.
2. 2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is contained within at least one of a digital camera, a digital video camera, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone and a scanner.
3. 3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the raw image information comprises a set of pixel representations read from the image sensor. 4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the abstraction layer comprises an interface layer for application programming. 5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the interface layer for application programming is embedded in an operating system or application. 6. A system according to claim 4, wherein the interface layer for application programming exposes a set of raw image functions to at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources. A system according to claim 6, wherein the at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources comprises at least one set of applications, and the set of applications comprises at least one of a general purpose image editing program, an image acquisition program, a photo album program, a printing program, a program for sharing images, a slide show program, a program for archiving images and a program to see images. A system according to claim 1, wherein the set of raw image plugs comprises at least one of a raw image file specification, a raw image metadata specification, an interface specification of raw image file hardware and a small raw image rendering representation specification. 9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the set of raw image plugs can be independently generated by device manufacturers that contain corresponding image sensors. 10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the raw image information is converted to an encoded format that is no longer unprocessed. eleven . A system according to claim 10, wherein the encoded format that is no longer unprocessed comprises at least one of a J PG format, a BM P format, a TIFF format, a G I F format and a PNG format. 12. A method for processing unprocessed image information, comprising: receiving raw image information generated by an image sensor; communicate via an abstraction layer with a set of raw image plugs that correspond to a set of image sensors to identify a plug associated with the image sensor in; and 1 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is contained within at least one of a digital camera, a digital video camera, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone and a scanner. .
4. 4. A method according to claim 12, wherein the unretouched image information comprises a set of representations of pixels read from the image sensor.
5. 5. A method according to claim 12, wherein the abstraction layer comprises an application programming interface layer. 1 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the application programming inlay layer is embedded in an operating system or application.7. A method according to claim 15, wherein the application programming interface layer exhibits a set of image functions without retouching to at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources. 18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources comprises at least one set of applications, and the set of applications comprises at least one of a general-purpose image editing program, an image acquisition program, a photo album program, a print program, a program for image sharing, a program for slide show, an archive program image and an image viewing program. 19. A method according to claim 12, wherein the set of unretouched image plugs comprises at least one of an unretouched image file specification, a non-retouching image data specification, an interface specification of hardware image file without retouching, and a representation specification of small image review without retouching. 20. A method according to claim 12, wherein the set of unretouched image plugs can be generated independently by the manufacturers of devices containing corresponding image sensors. twenty-one . A method according to claim 12, further comprising converting the image information without retouching to a coded format without retouching. 22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the non-retouched encoded format comprises at least one of a J PG format, a BMP format, a TIFF format, a GIF format and a PNG format . 23. An abstraction layer for providing access to image information without retouching, comprising: a first interface for a set of unretouched image plugs corresponding to a set of image sensors; a second interface for a set of functions for image processing without retouching; and an application programming interface, the application programming interface that communicates with the set of unretouched image plugs, and the set of image functions without retouching to expose the image functions without retouching to a set of applications or resources of the operating system to access the image information without retouching generated by an image sensor. 24. An abstraction layer according to claim 23, wherein the image sensor is contained within at least one of a digital camera, a digital video camera, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone and a scanner. 25. An abstraction layer according to claim 23, wherein the unretouched image information comprises a set of pixel representations read from the image sensor. 26. An abstraction layer according to claim 23, wherein the abstraction layer is embedded in an operating system or application. 27. An abstraction layer according to claim 23, wherein the at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources comprises at least one set of applications, and the set of applications comprises at least one set of applications. less one of a general purpose image editing program, an image acquisition program, a photo album program, a print program, a picture sharing program, a slide show program, an archive program of image and an image viewing program. 28. An abstraction layer according to claim 23, wherein the set of unretouched image plugs comprises at least one of an image file specification without retouching, an image metadata specification without retouching, an image file hardware interface specification without retouching, and a small image review representation without retouching. 29. An abstraction layer according to claim 23, wherein the set of raw image plugs can be independently generated by device manufacturers that contain corresponding image sensors. 30. A user interface, the user interface presenting a set of raw image functions for a user via an unprocessed image abstraction layer, comprising: a set of unprocessed image functions, the set of Raw image functions presented to the user via a set of selectable objects; and a link for an application programming interface, the application programming interface that communicates with a set of raw image plugs to selectively operate the raw image function set to access raw image information generated by an image sensor. 31 A user interface according to claim 30, wherein the set of raw image functions are presented to the user via at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources. 32. A user interface according to the claim 30, wherein the image sensor is contained within at least one of a digital camera, a digital video camera, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone and a scanner. 33. A user interface according to claim 30, wherein the raw image information comprises a set of pixel representations read from the image sensor. 34. A user interface according to claim 31, wherein the at least one of a set of applications and a set of operating system resources comprises at least one set of applications, and the set of applications comprises at least one of a general purpose image editing program, an image acquisition program, a photo album program, a printing program, a picture sharing program, a program for displaying transparencies, an image file program and a program of vision of image. 35. Raw image information, the raw image information that is extracted by a method comprising: receiving raw image information generated by an image sensor; communicating via an abstraction layer with a set of raw image plugs corresponding to a set of image sensors to identify a plug associated with the image sensor; and accessing the raw image information using the identified plug. 36. Raw image information according to claim 35, wherein the image sensor is contained within at least one of a digital camera, a digital video camera, a personal digital assistant, a cell phone and a scanner . 37. Raw image information according to claim 35, wherein the raw image information comprises a set of pixel representations read from the image sensor. 38. Unprocessed image information according to claim 35, wherein the abstraction layer comprises an application programming interface layer. 39. Unprocessed image information according to claim 35, wherein the method further comprises converting the raw image information to a non-unprocessed encoded format. 40. Raw image information according to claim 39, wherein the non-unprocessed encoded format comprises at least one of a JPG format, a BMP format, a TIFF format, a GIF format and a format of PNG. SUMMARY A system and related techniques provide a uniform abstraction layer for accessing and manipulating Raw image files, with the need for proprietary application tools. According to the embodiments, in one aspect, an operating system or other platform can expose a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) to general purpose image processing, photo album, printing or other applications through which you can access a Raw API layer. The layer, in turn, can communicate via a set of Raw codes or other protocols or channels with a specific hardware Raw plug layer, which can host a set of raw format specifications supplied, for example, by the manufacturers or other sellers of digital snapshot cameras. These low-level, specific hardware specifications can specify or encapsulate, for example, the Raw container or file format, Raw file requirements, small summary representations, or other details for individual Raw formats. Because the necessary raw translation is abstracted to the operating system or other platform, various applications can seamlessly use Raw image files from a variety of camera manufacturers and other manufacturers, without the need for proprietary tools. Therefore, users can have access to the representations of image information of the highest possible resolution captured by a given image device, transparently and without the need for switching tools between cameras or devices of different manufacturers.