Disclosure of Invention
The invention provides a novel liquid crystal lens imaging method based on the technical problems.
In view of the above, the present invention provides an imaging method for a liquid crystal lens, including: driving a liquid crystal lens to be in a first state, adopting a first optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the moment of the first state, and generating a first light pattern corresponding to the first optical signal according to the first optical signal; driving a liquid crystal lens to be in a second state, adopting a second optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the moment of the second state, and generating a second light pattern corresponding to the second optical signal according to the second optical signal; processing the first brightness map and the second brightness map, and taking the brightness map obtained by processing as a final brightness map; and generating a final digital image signal from the final luminance map.
In the above embodiment, the liquid crystal lens imaging method finally obtains the digital image signal by processing the brightness map, so that the error problem caused by calculation only for the linear response interval of the imaging sensor when the digital image signal is directly used for processing is avoided, and the calculation result of the brightness map is improved.
In any of the above-described embodiments, the method of generating the first luminance map corresponding to the first optical signal from the first optical signal preferably includes generating a first image signal from the first optical signal, and deriving the first luminance map corresponding to the first image signal from an inverse function of a response function of an amount of light of an image sensor and a sensor output value (hereinafter, simply referred to as "response function of an imaging sensor").
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, the method for generating the second luminance graph corresponding to the second optical signal according to the second optical signal includes generating a second image signal according to the second optical signal, and obtaining the second luminance graph corresponding to the second image signal according to an inverse function of a response function of an image sensor.
In any one of the above-described embodiments, preferably, the first state is a non-lens state, and the second state is a lens state.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, the processing the first brightness map and the second brightness map specifically includes: and removing a brightness map corresponding to the optical signal which is not modulated by the liquid crystal lens from the second brightness map to obtain the finally imaged brightness map, wherein the brightness map generated by the optical signal which is not modulated by the liquid crystal lens is obtained according to the first brightness map.
In any of the above solutions, preferably, the finally imaged brightness map is determined based on the following formula:
r3=r2-α·r1
wherein r is3For the final shine chart, r1Is the first brightness map, r2α is a polarization state anisotropy factor representing the fraction of polarization not modulated by the LC lens in incident lightRatio of (d) α · r1A light intensity map generated for the optical signal not modulated by the liquid crystal lens.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, when the incident light entering the liquid crystal lens is natural light, the polarization state anisotropy factor α takes a value of
In any one of the above technical solutions, preferably, the first state is a non-focusing state, and the second state is a focusing state.
In any of the above-described embodiments, preferably, the processing the first and second luminance patterns to obtain a luminance pattern as a final luminance pattern specifically includes:
and weakening the brightness graph corresponding to the interference light signal which is not modulated by the liquid crystal lens in the second brightness graph by using the first brightness graph.
In any of the above-described embodiments, preferably, the processing the first and second luminance patterns to obtain a luminance pattern as a final luminance pattern further includes: and processing the brightness map corresponding to the optical signal modulated by the liquid crystal lens in the second brightness map by using the brightness map corresponding to the optical signal modulated by the liquid crystal lens in the first brightness map.
In any of the above technical solutions, preferably, a time interval between the first state and the second state is less than a preset time.
Detailed Description
In order that the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention can be more clearly understood, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, however, the present invention may be practiced in other ways than those specifically described herein, and thus the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.
The liquid crystal lens imaging method provided by the invention comprises the following steps:
driving a liquid crystal lens to be in a first state, adopting a first optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the moment of the first state, and generating a first light pattern corresponding to the first optical signal according to the first optical signal;
driving a liquid crystal lens to be in a second state, adopting a second optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the moment of the second state, and generating a second light pattern corresponding to the second optical signal according to the second optical signal;
processing the first brightness map and the second brightness map, and taking the brightness map obtained by processing as a final brightness map; and
a final digital image signal is generated from the final luminance map.
Referring to fig. 1, a flow chart of the liquid crystal lens imaging method according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a flow chart of a liquid crystal lens in a lens and non-lens state, a brightness chart formed by converging light rays emitted from an interested area of a scene through the liquid crystal lens and a common lens is calculated, and a final digital image signal is generated according to the final brightness chart.
Specifically, the liquid crystal lens imaging method comprises the following steps:
step 11: the method comprises the steps of driving a liquid crystal lens to be in a non-lens state, adopting a first optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the moment of the non-lens state, and generating a first light pattern corresponding to the first optical signal according to the first optical signal.
In this embodiment, the liquid crystal lens is made to be in a state where no driving voltage is applied to the liquid crystal lens or the driving voltage is appliedWhen the focal distance is infinite, the liquid crystal lens is in a non-lens state, and at this time, the liquid crystal lens has no modulation effect on the incident light L. The first optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens is S1. In this embodiment, the first optical signal S may be collected by an image sensor1Generating a first image signal I corresponding thereto1. Then, the first image signal I is obtained according to the inverse function of the response function of the image sensor1Corresponding first brightness map r1. Here, unlike the conventional image processing, we do not directly use the digital image for the subsequent image processing, but use the first light pattern r closer to the real first light signal S11And the error caused by image processing operation of the imaging sensor in the nonlinear response interval is reduced.
Step 12: and driving the liquid crystal lens to be in a lens state, adopting a second optical signal which passes through the liquid crystal lens at the lens state moment, and generating a second light pattern corresponding to the second optical signal according to the second optical signal.
In this embodiment, a driving voltage is applied to the liquid crystal lens, so that an image formed by the polarized light modulated by the liquid crystal lens is located on the image sensor, and the liquid crystal lens is in a lens state, so that the liquid crystal lens has a converging or diverging modulation effect on a certain polarization direction of the incident light L. At this time, the second optical signal after passing through the liquid crystal lens is S2. In this embodiment, the second optical signal S may be collected by the image sensor2Generating a second image signal I corresponding thereto2. And obtaining the second image signal I according to the inverse function of the response function of the image sensor2Corresponding second brightness map r2。
Specifically, the process of generating the image signal according to the optical signal and then generating the luminance map according to the image signal is as follows:
f:r(x,y)->I(x,y) (1)
wherein the function f is a response function of the image sensor, and the brightness r (x, y) acquired by any pixel (x, y) on the image sensor is converted into an image signal I (x, y) of the pixel. The relationship between the luminance map r (x, y) and the image signal I (x, y) is as follows:
wherein f is-1:I(x,y)->r (x, y) is the inverse of the image sensor response function.
Step 13: and processing the first brightness map and the second brightness map, and taking the brightness map obtained by processing as a final brightness map. Specifically, a light intensity pattern corresponding to the light signal not modulated by the liquid crystal lens is removed from the second light intensity pattern, and the light intensity pattern of the final imaging is obtained, wherein the light intensity pattern generated by the light signal not modulated by the liquid crystal lens is obtained according to the first light intensity pattern.
In this embodiment, the time between the first state and the second state is less than a preset time. Since the time interval between the front and back states is short, the light entering the camera is almost the same, so the intensity of the light signal received by the image sensor is almost unchanged, so S1And S2Is approximately equal, and is located in the same section of the light intensity response curve of the image sensor, and the corresponding first light intensity map r1And a first brightness map r2The energies of (a) and (b) are also nearly equal. The first luminance pattern r can be obtained in practical operation by the pair of the non-lens and the lens state1And a first brightness map r2Removing the first luminance pattern r by the luminance pattern processing described in equation (1)2The final brightness map r is obtained by mixing useless brightness maps3。
r3=r2-α·r1(3)
Wherein α is the anisotropy factor of polarization state, and represents the proportion of polarization component not modulated by the liquid crystal lens in incident light, α. r
1The polarization state anisotropy factor α takes the value of α when the incident light entering the lc lens is natural light, i.e., when the incident light wave has isotropic properties
Step 14: a final digital image signal is generated from the final luminance map.
In this embodiment, we generate the final high quality digital image signal from the final luminance map by the response function of the image sensor, i.e. equation (1) above.
In the above embodiment, the liquid crystal lens imaging method finally obtains the digital image signal by processing the brightness map, so that the error problem caused by calculation only for the linear response interval of the imaging sensor when the digital image signal is directly used for processing is avoided, and the calculation result of the brightness map is improved.
Referring to fig. 2, a flow chart of a liquid crystal lens imaging method according to a second embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated, where the liquid crystal lens imaging method includes the following steps:
step 21: and driving the liquid crystal lens to be in a non-focusing state, adopting a first optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the non-focusing state moment, and generating a first light pattern corresponding to the first optical signal according to the first optical signal.
Step 22: and driving the liquid crystal lens to be in a focusing state, adopting a second optical signal passing through the liquid crystal lens at the moment of the focusing state, and generating a second light pattern corresponding to the second optical signal according to the second optical signal. Specifically, the method can be realized by the following steps: weakening a brightness graph corresponding to an interference light signal which is not modulated by the liquid crystal lens in the second brightness graph by using the first brightness graph; or the brightness map corresponding to the optical signal modulated by the liquid crystal lens in the second brightness map is processed by using the brightness map corresponding to the optical signal modulated by the liquid crystal lens in the first brightness map.
Step 23: and processing the first brightness map and the second brightness map, and taking the brightness map obtained by processing as a final brightness map.
Step 24: a final digital image signal is generated from the final luminance map.
In this embodiment, when the liquid crystal lens is in the focusing and non-focusing states, the brightness patterns used include an image for adjusting the focal length of the liquid crystal lens to focus on the region of interest, and an image for adjusting the focal length of the liquid crystal lens to be in the non-focusing state. Similar to the previous embodiment, the luminance map may be raw data of the image sensor or raw data calculated using an inverse function of the image processed digital image and the image sensor response function.
For the first brightness map r obtained in the non-focusing and focusing stateskAnd a second brightness map rfRemoving the second luminance pattern r by the luminance pattern processing described in equation (1)fThe useless brightness map mixed in the medium and the final brightness map rs。
rs=rf-wrk(4)
Wherein w represents the first luminance pattern rkThe weighting coefficient of (2).
Of course, in this embodiment, the imaging may also be calculated by using several brightness maps of the liquid crystal lens in the lens state, where the image includes one image obtained by adjusting the focal length of the liquid crystal lens to focus on the region of interest, and several images obtained by adjusting the focal length of the liquid crystal lens to not focus on the region of interest. The luminance map is raw data calculated by an inverse function of the image sensor response function. Specifically, when the liquid crystal lens is focused, a plurality of non-focusing images are obtained in the process of transition from a non-focusing state to a focusing state, and are arranged as I according to the time interval length sequence of the focusing state1,…,InAnd n is an integer of 1 or more.
When the incident light L is ensured not to change or only negligibly and slightly change in the focusing process, the focused image is processed by using the unfocused image, namely the final clear image I is obtained by processing based on the following formulas:
Is=normalization[If-ψ(I1,…,In)](5)
Wherein the normalization isBrightness regularization processing function, If-ψ(I1,…,In) Representing processing the in-focus image with at least one out-of-focus image.
In the preferred embodiment, # I (I)1,…,In) The following formula is satisfied:
wherein wk represents a weighting coefficient of the out-of-focus image Ik, and w is not less than 0
k<1,
In the example, the luminance normalization processing function normalization [ x ] satisfies the following equation:
combining the equations (5) and (6), the equation (4) is converted into the following equation:
the final luminance map is then calculated from the inverse of the image sensor response function:
an alternative strategy may be that as the focal length of the liquid crystal lens corresponding to the first luminance map rk is closer to the focal length of the liquid crystal lens corresponding to the second luminance map rf, the value of wk is smaller and vice versa.
The method proposed by this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the first embodiment completely removes the influence of the light component r _ x (assuming that the liquid crystal lens only modulates the light in the x direction and does not modulate the light in the y direction perpendicular thereto) which can only be converged by the normal lens by simple calculation, while the second embodiment cannot remove the influence of r _ x, and the finally formed luminance pattern is a luminance pattern formed by two light components of r _ x and r _ y. The above equation is transformed as follows,
we can see that our result is an increase in rf base
And the difference between the two light components is extracted to form a texture edge area of the image, so that the contrast of the second brightness image rf is greatly improved.
In this embodiment, it is preferable that the liquid crystal lens does not affect the change of the image magnification due to the change of the focusing condition when the state change occurs, such as from the in-focus state to the out-of-focus state or from the out-of-focus state to the in-focus state. In other words, the liquid crystal lens imaging method is realized by adopting an imaging device with unchanged image magnification. This can be done in a number of ways, such as using a focus motor to compensate for the effect of changes in the focal length of the liquid crystal lens on the image magnification. Or with reference to Watanabe M and Nayar S K. (Watanabe M, Nayar S K. electronic optics for focus Analysis [ J ]. Pattern Analysis and Machine Analysis, IEEE Transactionson,1997,19(12): 1360-.
According to the liquid crystal lens imaging method, the brightness map is processed to finally obtain the digital image signal, so that the problem of errors caused by calculation only aiming at the linear response interval of the imaging sensor when the digital image signal is directly used for processing is avoided, and the calculation result of the brightness map is improved. In addition, the liquid crystal lens imaging method reduces the calculation error of the brightness map due to the use of the imaging device with unchanged image magnification.
Finally, it should be noted that, in practice, the focused image and the focused state are related to the predetermined determination criteria, so the "non-focused state" and the "focused state" in the present invention are relative terms, and any technique that utilizes the "first brightness map" generated by the liquid crystal lens in the "non-focused state" to process the "second brightness map" generated by the liquid crystal lens in the "focused state" regardless of the order of generation of the "non-focused image" and the "focused image" is within the scope of the present invention.
The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.