Microsoft Researchers Use Motion Sensors to Combat Camera Blur

At SIGGRAPH 2010 in Los Angeles last month, Microsoft researchers showed off some new technology that improves existing digital blur reduction techniques by outfitting a camera with motion detecting sensors.

The team created an off-the-shelf hardware attachment consisting of a three-axis accelerometer, three gyroscopes, and a Bluetooth radio, attaching the setup to a Canon 1Ds Mark III camera. The researchers then created a software algorithm to use the motion information captured during the exposure to do “dense, per-pixel spatially-varying image deblurring”.

Here are some before and after examples published by the team:

Pretty impressive for digital blur reduction, huh?

It might only be a matter of time before we see motion sensors incorporated into both point-and-shoot cameras as well as DSLRs. Compacts could use the technology to reduce blur in-camera, while DSLRs could include the motion data in the RAW image files.

Image Deblurring using Inertial Measurement Sensors

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