Motion-based "Auto Mode Selection" eliminates blur, improving camera images while simplifying controls

Using new image stabilization and anti-blur technology, integrated into Zoran's COACH 9 and 10 processors, the automatic selection of the proper camera mode is now possible. Dubbed AMS (for "Auto Mode Select") this breakthrough technology is expected to find extensive use in new digital cameras coming to market this year and next, followed by incorporation into a bevy of future mobile phones, PDAs and other convergence devices employing digital imaging.

The 3 As
The majority of digital cameras presently on the market feature what many CE OEMs refer to as the 3As--auto exposure, auto focus, and auto white balance algorithms, that determine camera exposure and processing parameters in automatic mode. In essence, by extending the functionality of Auto-Exposure, Zoran is enabling CE OEMs to add to mainstream, affordable digital cameras a new dimension driven by scene object motion--Auto Mode Selection (AMS).

Zoran's Auto Mode Selection technology increases the percentage of successful photos without asking the user to set the camera's parameters. Zoran's advanced algorithms and hardware logic in the COACH 9 and 10 processors work together to determine the correct exposure, focus, and white balance, while also calculating and adjusting the camera to take into account any motion in the scene or in the handheld camera.

Consumer studies indicate that the most common problem affecting digital photography is unwanted object or hand movements that result in blurred images. But the selection of the best exposure parameters to mitigate unwanted motion image blurring, while maintaining the best balance of image optical sharpness, highlight and shadow detail, and low image noise, can be, and often is, a daunting task, especially when there is no time to make manual camera adjustments before capturing spontaneous moments. Zoran's COACH 9 and 10 processor technology helps capture those precious moments before they are lost.

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Figure 1: COACH 10 block diagram

Zoran integrated its advanced image motion stabilization technology into the COACH 9 and 10 processors, for both video and still photos, and linked it with the intelligent selection of exposure parameters that provide the best image possible under all picture-taking conditions. The result is AMS and the highest percentage of remarkably crisp, properly exposed images, from even low-cost digital cameras using the COACH 9 or 10 processors. The COACH AMS technology requires no additional external components, thus OEMs can add this feature with little or no impact to the digital camera bill of materials or system cost.

Next: The next step in AE technology