HP Restores Creased Photos With Flatbed Scanners 125
Posted
by
timothy
from the but-can-they-restore-my-boorish-charm? dept.
from the but-can-they-restore-my-boorish-charm? dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists at HP have developed a technique to detect creases in photographs using standard, unmodified flatbed scanners. Once correctly scanned into a computer, software can determine where the photograph's defect is, and artificially correct it to remove any trace of a crease or fold. The result is a spotless JPEG scan from a creased photo, with absolutely no modified hardware and no technical know-how required on the part of the user." They're using multiple light sources to do this, in a way that reminds me of last year's description of 3D image creation using an ordinary digital camera.
Re:!unmodified (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, but I'm guessing there was no reason for the scanners to come with individual controls for each light before this technology
Re:Wait, wait (Score:5, Informative)
Won't this ruin my collection of photographs of creased paper?
Actually, no, it won't. Since the method uses different light sources to build a partial 3D model of the actual shape of the crease, your mere photographic creases won't be detected. You can breathe a sigh of relief.
Uses of multiple light sources (Score:5, Informative)
Multiple light sources offer some interesting options. A few years ago, someone modified a digital camera (I think a Canon PowerShot) to have four flash sources instead of the usual one. The camera would take four pictures in quick succession, one with each flash. This allowed better edge detection.
It was useful for applications like taking a picture of complex, dirty machinery (as under a car hood) and locating the edges, even where everything was roughly the same shade. It also helped when photographing very shiny objects, where the reflection from the flash was a problem. With each reflection from each flash unit in a different place, all reflections could be removed.
It was too specialized to become mainstream, though. That seems to be the fate of 3D from 2D systems. Good ones have been built [canoma.com], but most have been either discontinued or turned into very expensive products for specialized use.
Re:!unmodified (Score:3, Informative)
From a different FA: [newscientist.com]
Re:Book valley detection (Score:4, Informative)
Just package that which Google has patented...
http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2009/05/article-patent-reveals-googles-book.html [blogspot.com]
Re:Nice (Score:1, Informative)
My Angel is a crease-less centerfold
Re:Quite so... (Score:3, Informative)
Which are standard, but in high-quality print studios and other places that would do this kind of retouching by hand anyway in order to preserve or achieve better quality of the final product.
Actually, most images are restored using digital techniques these days, because it can achieve better results than doing it by hand. You'd only do it by hand if you were talking about something like a historical artifact or unique artwork.