A fully digital auto-focusing system using a priori point spread function dataset

This paper presents a fully digital auto-focusing (FDAF) system using a priori obtained point spread function (PSF) dataset. The proposed FDAF algorithm aims at low-cost, affordable consumer's imaging electronics free from either optical or mechanical focusing parts. The proposed algorithm consists of three steps: i) a priori estimation of a set of PSFs, ii) automatic selection of a proper PSF from the blurred input image, and iii) restoration the out-of-focused image by selecting the optimal PSF from the a priori obtained dataset. The proposed algorithm can realize low-cost, high-quality imaging systems, such as digital still cameras, mobile camera phones, and surveillance cameras.