Abstract:
An apparatus, method, and computer readable medium related to autofocusing a camera lens system. An initial image is captured at a first lens position and focus information is extracted with respect to a first plurality of focus windows. A second image is captured at a second lens position and focus information is extracted for a second plurality of focus windows that correspond to the first plurality of focus windows in the initial image. The focus information for corresponding windows is compared to determine whether the focus status in each window is improving or degrading; this determination reveals whether the lens is positioned in a desirable position with respect to the data revealed by the data extracted from the focus windows.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure relates generally to the field of digital image capture operations. More particularly, this disclosure relates to techniques for improved autofocus operations in a digital camera. A camera&#39;s autofocus system automatically adjusts the camera lens&#39; position to obtain focus on a subject. As used in this disclosure, the term “camera” refers to any device having digital image capture capability. Examples include, but are not limited to, digital SLR cameras, point-and-shoot digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop or notebook computer systems, tablet computer systems, personal digital assistants, and portable music/video players. 
     Autofocus systems may generally be divided into two types: active, and passive. Active autofocus systems measure the distance to a subject by emitting, and using, a signal to estimate the distance to the subject (e.g., ultrasound and infrared). The estimated distance is then used to adjust or set the camera&#39;s focal length (i.e. lens position). In contrast, passive autofocus systems set a camera&#39;s focal length or lens position by analyzing an image that enters the camera&#39;s optical system. Passive autofocusing can be achieved through phase detection or contrast measurement. 
     Many small multifunction devices such as mobile phones use a passive autofocus technique based on contrast measurement. In devices such as these, autofocus operations involve adjusting the position of the device&#39;s lens to a specified number of locations (e.g. lens arrangements) and evaluating the focus (e.g., contrast) between corresponding areas in successive images. The lens position corresponding to the maximum contrast, as determined by the number of sharp edges detected, is assumed to correspond to maximum sharpness and best focus. 
     While generally preferred in many situations, passive autofocus systems may suffer from a variety of problems. One example is that in some situations the autofocus system may achieve more clarity in the background of the scene than in the subject. When this happens, the autofocus system sets the focus distance so that the background is in focus while the intended subject is out of focus. The problem of background focusing is illustrated by  FIG. 1  in which image  100 &#39;s autofocus region  105  includes flower (subject)  110  and grass (background)  115 . Inspection of image  100  shows background grass  115  is in focus while flower  110  is out of focus. This is because, within autofocus area  105 , grass  115  contains many more sharp edges than does flower  110 . Because of this, the autofocus system judges the lens position needed to bring the background grass into focus as proper. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and computer readable medium for determining an autofocus lens position. As used herein, the phrase “autofocus lens position” refers to the lens position determined by a camera&#39;s autofocus system as proper. Some embodiments include capturing a first image of a scene using a first lens position and then obtaining a plurality of focus scores or values associated with the image captured at the first lens position. Each of the plurality of focus scores is associated with an area of the image (e.g. a focus window) and indicates the state of focus in that area. In some embodiments, a series of images are captured using a series of respective lens positions varying between the lens&#39; macro position and the lens&#39; infinity position. A plurality of focus windows and focus scores are associated with each image in the series of images, and each focus window has a corresponding focus score (placed similarly or identically with respect to the image frame) for each image. The result is that for each focus window location there are a series of focus scores, each score associated with a different lens position. The data for each focus window may be visualized as in  FIG. 7C  and characteristically has a single peak representing the lens position where the focus is best in a particular focus window. The comparison of several focus window datum can be visualized as the overlay of respective focus score graphs, each graph having a peak. In some embodiments of the invention, the autofocus system can identify a final lens position by determining the lens position with respect to the placement of the peak values of the focus window data. In some embodiments, the appropriate focus score is determined when one third of the focus window data peaks are on the macro side of the lens position and two thirds of the peaks are on the infinity side of the lens position. 
     Other embodiments of the invention can achieve the same autofocus resulting lens position using as few as two lens positions. These embodiments recognize that when focus scores for sequential lens positions are increasing (in corresponding focus windows) that the peak lies further toward the macro side of the lens. Similarly, when focus scores for sequential lens positions are decreasing (in corresponding focus windows) that the peak lies toward the infinity side of the lens. By understanding these principles, embodiments of the invention can determine the relative position of focus window peaks by analyzing data at only two lens positions. Therefore, in order to find the one-third macro and two-thirds infinity position discussed above, focus windows from two lens positions may be examined and then, only if necessary, further lens positions may be employed to find either the one-third/two-thirds ratio or any desired positioning based upon focus window data peaks. 
     In yet other embodiments, for the purpose of evaluating the relative position of peaks, a weighting scheme may be employed. In some embodiments, each time new focus window data is collected based on a new lens position, the relative position of the focus window data peaks with respect to the lens position is analyzed using a weighting system applied to the most recent set of focus window data. For example, in evaluating the location of peaks, focus score data from each window may be weighted according to the position of the window, the magnitude of the focus score for the window, or a combination of both. By weighting the focus score data, the ultimate resulting lens position can bias toward more relevant focus windows and away from less relevant focus windows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an illustrative picture showing a focus area. 
         FIG. 2  shows a representative hardware environment. 
         FIG. 3  shows a representative network environment. 
         FIG. 4  shows representative software architecture. 
         FIG. 5A  shows an illustrative lens arrangement. 
         FIG. 5B  shows an illustrative lens arrangement. 
         FIG. 5C  shows an illustrative lens arrangement. 
         FIG. 6  shows an illustrative process associated with an invention. 
         FIG. 7A  illustrates an autofocus area in a frame. 
         FIG. 7B  illustrates an autofocus area divided into 15 windows. 
         FIG. 7C  illustrates a focus graph. 
         FIG. 8  shows an illustrative collection of 15 focus graphs aligned so that a vertical line through all the graphs represents a single lens position. 
         FIG. 9  shows the illustrative collection of 15 focus graphs aligned so that a vertical line through all the graphs represents a single lens position. 
         FIG. 10  shows the illustrative collection of 15 focus graphs aligned so that a vertical line through all the graphs represents a single lens position. 
         FIG. 11  diagrams a process associated with embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 12  shows the illustrative collection of 15 focus graphs, including a grid, where the graphs are aligned so that a vertical line through all the graphs represents a single lens position. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a table holding focus graph data associated with embodiments and examples of embodiments. 
         FIG. 14  shows a process associated with embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a table holding focus graph data and weighting data associated with embodiments and examples of embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This disclosure pertains to systems, methods, and computer readable media to provide improved autofocus operations. In general, techniques are disclosed that show how to improve contrast-based autofocus operations by adjusting the lens arrangement in response to information passively obtained from an observed scene. More particularly, some embodiments disclosed herein evaluate a multi-window autofocus area for each of multiple lens arrangements. In one embodiment, the image data for each lens arrangement may be captured and stored for analysis. Thus, for example, a burst of images may be captured and stored to preserve data regarding a variety of lens arrangements—e.g. one captured image per lens arrangement. For each captured image, focus information may be generated with respect to each window within an autofocus area. When all of the burst-captured images are considered, each window&#39;s focus information may be represented by a series of indications (e.g. focus scores), where each indication represents the focus status in a particular window for a particular lens arrangement. 
     The inventive embodiments described herein may have implication and use in and with respect to all types of devices that may include a digital camera. These devices may include single and multi-processor computing systems and vertical devices (e.g. cameras or appliances) that incorporate single or multi-processing computing systems. The discussion herein references a common computing configuration having a CPU resource including one or more microprocessors. The discussion is only for illustration and is not intended to confine the application of the invention to the disclosed hardware. Other systems having other known or common hardware configurations (now or in the future) are fully contemplated and expected. With that caveat, a typical hardware and software operating environment is discussed below. The hardware configuration may be found, for example, in a smart phone, a server, a laptop, a tablet, a desktop computer, another type of phone, or any computing device, whether mobile or stationary. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a simplified functional block diagram of illustrative electronic device  200  is shown according to one embodiment. Electronic device  200  could be, for example, a mobile telephone, personal media device, portable camera, or a tablet, notebook or desktop computer system or even a server. As shown, electronic device  200  may include processor  205 , display  210 , user interface  215 , graphics hardware  220 , device sensors  225  (e.g., GPS, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer and/or gyroscope), microphone  230 , audio codec(s)  235 , speaker(s)  240 , communications circuitry  245 , image capture circuitry and/or hardware such as optics  250  (e.g. camera), video codec(s)  255 , memory  260 , storage  265  (e.g. hard drive(s), flash memory, optical memory, etc.) and communications bus  270 . Communications circuitry  245  may include one or more chips or chip sets for enabling cell based communications (e.g., LTE, CDMA, GSM, HSDPA, etc.) or other communications (WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, Thunderbolt, Firewire, etc.). Electronic device  200  may be, for example any type of device where photo capture may be useful or desirable. 
     Processor  205  may execute instructions necessary to carry out or control the operation of many functions performed by electronic device  200  (e.g., such as to run a camera application with user interface, or programs and routines to perform camera functions such as autofocus and image analysis). In general, many of the functions described herein are based upon a microprocessor acting upon software (instructions) embodying the function. Processor  205  may, for instance, drive display  210  and receive user input from user interface  215 . User interface  215  can take a variety of forms, such as a button, keypad, dial, a click wheel, keyboard, display screen and/or a touch screen, or even a microphone or camera (video and/or still) to capture and interpret input sound/voice or images including video. The user interface  115  may capture user input for any purpose including for photography scene selection, image framing, automatic and/or assisted focus function and image capture as well as any other camera control feature known now or in the future. In some embodiments, a camera application program will display interfaces for interaction with a user/photographer. In those embodiments, the user may employ a touch interface to interact with the camera application controls, sometimes simultaneously while viewing the camera&#39;s reproduction of a live scene or a previously captured image (e.g. the controls are presented over the scene/image and/or around its edges). 
     Processor  205  may be a system-on-chip such as those found in mobile devices and may include a dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU). Processor  205  may be based on reduced instruction-set computer (RISC) or complex instruction-set computer (CISC) architectures or any other suitable architecture and may include one or more processing cores. Graphics hardware  220  may be special purpose computational hardware for processing graphics and/or assisting processor  205  to process graphics information. In one embodiment, graphics hardware  220  may include one or more programmable graphics processing units (GPU). 
     Sensors  225  and camera  250  may capture contextual and/or environmental phenomena such as location information, the status of the device with respect to light, gravity and the magnetic north, and even still and video images. All captured contextual and environmental phenomena may be used to contribute to the function, feature and operation of the camera and related software and/or hardware. Output from the sensors  225  or camera  250  may be processed, at least in part, by video codec(s)  255  and/or processor  205  and/or graphics hardware  220 , and/or a dedicated image processing unit incorporated within circuitry  250 . Information so captured may be stored in memory  260  and/or storage  265  and/or in any storage accessible on an attached network. Memory  260  may include one or more different types of media used by processor  205 , graphics hardware  220 , and image capture  250  to perform device functions. For example, memory  260  may include memory cache, electrically erasable memory (e.g., flash), read-only memory (ROM), and/or random access memory (RAM). Storage  265  may store data such as media (e.g., audio, image and video files), computer program instructions, or other software including database applications, preference information, device profile information, and any other suitable data. Storage  265  may include one more non-transitory storage mediums including, for example, magnetic disks (fixed, floppy, and removable) and tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs and digital video disks (DVDs), and semiconductor memory devices such as Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), and Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM). Memory  260  and storage  265  may be used to retain computer program instructions or code organized into one or more modules in either compiled form or written in any desired computer programming language. When executed by, for example, processor  205 , such computer program code may implement one or more of the acts or functions described herein. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , illustrative network architecture  300 , within which the disclosed techniques may be implemented, includes a plurality of networks  305 , (i.e.,  305 A,  305 B and  305 C), each of which may take any form including, but not limited to, a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. Further, networks  305  may use any desired technology (wired, wireless, or a combination thereof) and protocol (e.g., transmission control protocol, TCP). Coupled to networks  305  are data server computers  310  (i.e.,  310 A and  310 B) that are capable of operating server applications such as databases and also capable of communicating over networks  305 . One embodiment using server computers may involve the operation of one or more central systems to collect, process, and distribute images or controls and/or functionality related to image capture. For example, a camera may be controlled through a remote user interface accessed over a PAN, LAN or WAN. Similarly, capture images, whether in final form or as used for camera functions such as auto focus, may be sent over the network 
     Also coupled to networks  305 , and/or data server computers  310 , are client computers  315  (i.e.,  315 A,  315 B and  315 C), which may take the form of any computer, set top box, entertainment device, communications device, or intelligent machine, including embedded systems. In some embodiments, users will employ client computers in the form of smart phones or tablets. Also, in some embodiments, network architecture  310  may also include network printers such as printer  320  and storage systems such as  325 , which may be used to store multi-media items (e.g., images) that are referenced herein. To facilitate communication between different network devices (e.g., data servers  310 , end-user computers  315 , network printer  320 , and storage system  325 ), at least one gateway or router  330  may be optionally coupled there between. Furthermore, in order to facilitate such communication, each device employing the network may comprise a network adapter. For example, if an Ethernet network is desired for communication, each participating device may have an Ethernet adapter or embedded Ethernet capable ICs. Further, the devices may carry network adapters for any network in which they will participate. 
     As noted above, embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein include software. As such, a general description of common computing software architecture is provided as expressed in layer diagrams of  FIG. 4 . Like the hardware examples, the software architecture discussed here is not intended to be exclusive in any way but rather illustrative. This is especially true for layer-type diagrams, which software developers tend to express in somewhat differing ways. In this case, the description begins with layers starting with the O/S kernel, so lower level software and firmware has been omitted from the illustration but not from the intended embodiments. The notation employed here is generally intended to imply that software elements shown in a layer use resources from the layers below and provide services to layers above. However, in practice, all components of a particular software element may not behave entirely in that manner. 
     With those caveats regarding software, referring to  FIG. 4 , layer  31  is the O/S kernel, which provides core O/S functions in a protected environment. Above the O/S kernel is layer  32  O/S core services, which extends functional services to the layers above, such as disk and communications access. Layer  33  is inserted to show the general relative positioning of the Open GL library and similar application and framework resources. Layer  34  is an amalgamation of functions typically expressed as multiple layers: applications frameworks and application services. For purposes of our discussion, these layers provide high-level and often functional support for application programs which reside in the highest layer shown here as item  35 . Item C 100  is intended to show the general relative positioning of the application software, including any camera application software described for some of the embodiments of the current invention. In particular, in some embodiments, a camera software application is used to interact with the user through user interfaces facilitated by the host device. The camera application software allows the user to perform normal camera operations such as framing the image in a scene, choosing effects, zooming, choosing the aspect ratio of the image, indicating when a capture should occur as well as any other functions that may be performed on a stand-alone digital camera. In some embodiments, application layer camera software will rely on frameworks and resources in the layer shown as C 200 . Furthermore, in some embodiments, the invention may be implemented as a resource and/or framework for use with application programs that use an API or interface provided by the invention. While the ingenuity of any particular software developer might place the functions of the software described at any place in the software stack, the software hereinafter described is generally envisioned as all of: (i) user facing, for example, to allow user operation of camera functionality; (ii) as a utility, or set of functions or utilities, beneath the application layer, providing focus resources to application programs or other programs; and (iii) as one or more server applications for providing the same functions and/or services to client devices over a network. Furthermore, on the server side, certain embodiments described herein may be implemented using a combination of server application level software, database software, with either possibly including frameworks and a variety of resource modules. 
     No limitation is intended by these hardware and software descriptions and the varying embodiments of the inventions herein may include any manner of computing device such as Macs, PCs, PDAs, phones, servers, or even embedded systems. 
     In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the inventive concepts. As part of this description, some of this disclosure&#39;s drawings represent structures and devices in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described. Moreover, the language used in this disclosure has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter, resort to the claims being necessary to determine such inventive subject matter. Reference in this disclosure to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention, and multiple references to “some embodiments,” “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” should not be understood as necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
     In order to illuminate discussion of various embodiments, it may be useful to review a typical camera&#39;s structure visa vis lens movement. Referring to  FIG. 5A , capture assembly  500  can include image sensor  505 , lens tube  510 , lens assembly  515 , macro stops  520 , and infinity (∞) stops  525 . In this disclosure, the terms “lens” and “lens assembly” are taken to be synonymous, and the term “lens arrangement” is used to refer to a particular relative positioning of a lens assembly  515  with respect to the image sensor  505  and/or the positioning of multiple lenses within a lens assembly with respect to each other. As such, the term lens can mean a single optical element or multiple elements configured into a stack or other arrangement. Referring to  FIG. 5B , when lens  515  is against macro stops  520 , imaging assembly  500  may focus on objects as close as a first distance (hereinafter referred to as the “macro distance”). Referring to  FIG. 5C , when lens  515  is against infinity stops  525 , all objects beyond a second distance will be in focus (hereinafter referred to as the “infinity distance”). During autofocus operations, lens  515  may be moved from one end of tube  510  to the other, stopping to capture an image at a specified number of locations along the way. In some embodiments, the movement of the lens  515  is under control of software running on a processor such as the microprocessor discussed above. The locations at which lens  515  stops may be uniformly or non-uniformly distributed between the two sets of stops (macro  520  and infinity  525 ). One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a particular camera&#39;s macro and infinity distances, as well as the number of lens positions used during autofocus operations, can depend on the camera&#39;s specific design. By way of example, some modern mobile telephones have a macro distance of 10-40 centimeters, an infinity distance of 1.5-3 meters, and can take between 9 and 15 images—each at a different lens position—during autofocus operations. Finally, while many embodiments of the invention employ an optical focusing system as described, the discussion regarding the physical lens positioning and arrangements is not intended to confine the invention to any particular type of focus manipulation. Embodiments of the invention demonstrate how to employ scene information to adjust the focus of a camera, the invention is not confined to any particular type of focusing system. For example, the invention may be implemented with light field focusing systems, which differ from the optics pictured in  FIG. 5 . In addition, embodiments of the invention include the use of a camera application running on a general purpose computer such as a smartphone or a tablet having an integral camera. In these embodiments, the activation of the camera application by the user may initiate the autofocus process whereby the lens is moved under control of either the camera application or framework/resource software associated with the camera. In some embodiments the camera application uses the framework software, which in turn directly controls the motion of the lens. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , autofocus operation  600 , in accordance with one embodiment, can begin by moving a camera&#39;s lens to an initial or start position (block  605 ). Example start positions include the camera&#39;s macro and infinity distance positions (see  FIGS. 5B and 5C ) or potentially any position in between, such as a center position approximately between the macro and infinity positions. Once positioned, a first image may be captured (block  610 ), after which focus scores for the image may be determined (block  615 ). One approach to the generation of focus scores is to use dedicated hardware whose operating parameters may be set via software and/or firmware. Such hardware may be part of, or intimately coupled to, a camera&#39;s image processing pipeline hardware. In contrast-based autofocus systems, focus scores may be indicative of the number of hard edges identified in a specified area of an image. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7A  and in accordance with autofocus operation  600 , capture frame  700  (representing image data captured by sensor  505 ) has within it autofocus area  705 . In general, only image data within autofocus area  705  is considered during autofocus operation  600 . In one embodiment, autofocus area  705  may be coincident with capture frame  700 . In another embodiment, autofocus area  705  may be centered in frame  700  as shown. In still another embodiment, the location and/or size of autofocus area  705  may be moved and/or divided under user and/or program control. For example, a user may select one or more focus areas by touching the screen or using a displaying interface to move and position one or more focus points on the screen of a device. As another example, program control may evaluate the contents of an image and place focus points accordingly with respect to the subject (e.g., if subject is aligned against one side of the frame and the rest of the frame is a smooth, uniformly colored, surface). In general, embodiments in accordance with autofocus operation  600  partition autofocus area  705  into multiple smaller regions (hereinafter referred to as windows). For example, autofocus area  705  may be partitioned into a W×H grid of windows. Referring to  FIG. 7B , autofocus area  710  is shown partitioned into a (5×3) grid of windows. The number of windows into which autofocus area  705  may be partitioned may be dependent, at least in part, on the specialized focus metric components used and/or the amount of available memory. 
     Returning to  FIG. 6 , after an image is captured (block  610 ) and its focus scores obtained (block  615 ), a test may be made to determine if all of the desired or needed images have been acquired (block  620 ). One illustrative autofocus system may be designed (or programmed) to capture one image at each of nine (9) lens positions while another may be designed (or programmed) to capture one image at each of thirteen (13) lens positions. In some embodiments (discussed in further detail later), the focus analysis may be performed with as few as two (2) lens positions (i.e. images) so the number of images captured will be the minimum number necessary to make a final focus determination. In any of the foregoing situations, if at least one image remains to be captured (the “NO” prong of block  620 ), the position of lens  515  may be adjusted (block  625 ), whereafter autofocus operation  600  continues at block  610 . In some embodiments, actions in accordance with blocks  605 - 625  may be known or referred to as the “scan phase” on autofocus operation  600 . If all needed images have been captured (the “YES” prong of block  620 ), a result or partial result may be obtained at block  330  including: the best focus score for each window and their corresponding lens positions, or a determination regarding the best lens position may be made. 
     If M represents the number of images captured, and N represents the number of windows in the autofocus area (e.g., autofocus area  405 ), actions in accordance with blocks  610 - 625  generate (M×N) focus scores; M focus scores for each of the N windows in the autofocus area. If each of the M focus scores for a single window are plotted against the lens position at which each was determined, the resulting plot is referred to as a focus graph. See  FIG. 7C . In one embodiment, the peak of the focus graph indicates the best focus distance for that window (e.g., focus graph  750 ). When each of the N groups of M focus scores is evaluated in this way, each window&#39;s best focus score—and its corresponding lens position—may be determined as a result or partial result (block  630 ). 
     The lens positions corresponding to the collection of N focus scores determined in accordance with block  630  can be reviewed and, using one or more selection criteria, the best autofocus lens position for the camera may be chosen. In one embodiment, the collection of lens positions may be sorted or arranged to facilitate the identification of lens positions at a specified percentile (or equivalent measure) from either the camera&#39;s macro position or infinity position. For example, if the selection criterion is the “33rd percentile from the macro position,” the autofocus lens position may be set to a distance corresponding to that lens position that is ⅓ the way between the macro distance and the infinity distance in the list of lens positions corresponding to the N focus scores. The same setting would result if the selection criteria were 67th percentile from the infinity position.” 
     By way of illustration  FIG. 8  shows 15 focus graphs aligned so that a vertical line will intersect every graph at a point corresponding to the same lens position (e.g. the left side is the infinity position while the right side is the macro position). 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , each focus graph has a peak which represents the position of the lens where the focus for that particular window is best. The peaks are indicated with black bars. Since each of the peaks represents the best lens position for a particular window, the relationship between the peaks can indicate a best overall lens position for focusing on the intended subject in the frame. For example, in one embodiment the center peak (i.e. the peak of FG- 14 ) may be chosen as the approximate or preferred lens position. In other embodiments, the best lens position may be indicated by a ratio of peak values/locations. For example, as indicated above, for some embodiments the inventors have empirically determined that a ⅓ macro-⅔ infinity position is preferred. Referring to  FIG. 9 , the dashed line  901  illustrates the ⅓ macro−⅔ infinity position because 5 peaks reside on the macro side of the line (⅓ of 15) while 10 peaks reside on the infinity side (⅔ of 15). 
     Referring again to  FIG. 9 , since focus graphs carrying useful information generally have only one peak, we anticipate the location of a peak by observing whether the value of a focus graph is increasing or decreasing at any particular point. For example, where dashed line  901  crosses FG- 1 , the value of FG- 1  is decreasing, meaning that the peak of FG- 1  is behind the dashed line  901 . To generalize this observation, in some embodiments, it is assumed that a peak will be found in the direction of increasing focus score values and not in the direction of decreasing focus score values. Therefore, if we track the focus graphs horizontally through dashed line  901 , the five focus graphs peaking to the right of line  901  are all increasing as the pass through line  901 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , we can observe that the ⅓ macro-⅔ infinity lens position can be found with data from as little as two lens positions. By evaluating whether the focus data is rising or falling between lens position  1001  and lens position  901 , we can infer the location of the peak for each focus graph (i.e. peaks are found in the direction of rising values). Therefore, having data from only two lens positions, the relative placement of the lens with respect to the data peaks may be assessed. Furthermore, if a change in relative placement is desired, new lens positions are only needed until the desired relative positioning is found. By using fewer lens positions, the auto focusing process may be hastened (because fewer lens adjustments are required) and fewer image captures and mathematical calculations are necessary. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , there is shown a process for determining the peak relationships (such as ⅓ macro-⅔ infinity lens positions) without a full scan of lens positions and by using as few as two lens positions. At block  1101  the lens is placed in its initial position. In one embodiment, the initial position may be a pre-defined place such as a ratio between the infinity and macro positions (e.g. at either end, mid-way, or one third from either side). In other embodiments, the initial position may be determined dynamically by evaluating camera parameters or other parameters, such as sensor parameters, from one or more computer devices that host the camera. In addition, in one or more embodiments, the initial position may simply be the position that the lens is in at the beginning of the process (i.e. no adjustment made to move to initial position. For purposes of illustration,  FIG. 10  shows focus graphs for 15 focus windows and we assume (for this example) that line  1001  shows the initial lens position. The process continues at block  1110  where a first image is captured for analysis, the first image being captured with the lens in the initial position shown by line  1001 . Following to block  1113 , focus values are extracted from the image for each window being employed in a focus or autofocus arrangement. Referring again to  FIG. 10 , the focus value at the lens position represented by line  1001  may be reflected by the intersection of line  1001  with each focus graph. In some embodiments, the actual focus value is derived from an assessment of contrast in the window, but perhaps from other factors as well. For these embodiments, the focus value may be derived in any way that determines or estimates the quality of focus in each window. For purpose of this illustration, we estimate a focus value between 0 and 10 based upon based upon the vertical position of the focus graph at the lens location indicated by vertical line  1001 . While in most embodiments, these values will be measured and derived as described above, for purpose of this illustration,  FIG. 12  shows a version of  FIG. 10  on a grid to aid in estimating the values.  FIG. 13  shows a table displaying the focus values in column  1310  for each focus graph as identified in column  1305 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11  again, control moves to block  1115 , where the lens position is adjusted. For purpose of illustration, the new position of the lens is shown in  FIG. 12  by line  901 . While the illustrated adjustment is in the macro direction, embodiments of the invention may similarly move the lens in the infinity direction as well. Control moves to block  1120  where the (n+1)th image is captured for analysis (for this particular illustration, the second image). At block  1123 , the focus values are extracted as described above. For illustration, the values from the focus graphs of  FIG. 12  corresponding to line  901  are estimated and recorded in column  1315  of  FIG. 13 . 
     Peak analysis is performed at block  1125 . In certain embodiments and for purposes of the illustration under discussion, peak analysis involves determining the number of windows with increasing and/or decreasing focus values and ultimately the number of focus graph peaks on each side of the lens position. For example, and referring to  FIG. 13 , in the window represented by focus graph  1  (FG- 1 ) the focus value for lens position  1  (LP  1 ) was 6.9 and for LP  2  it was 4.3. Thus for FG- 1 , the focus value is decreasing. If all the focus graphs in the illustration are examined, we find that five values are increasing (FG  2 ,  4 ,  8 ,  12  and  15 ) while the remaining  10  are decreasing. Therefore, by using only two lens positions, we can determine that one third of the focus graph peaks are on the macros side of the lens position and two thirds are on the infinity side. 
     Control moves to block  1130  to determine if the process can terminate with a final lens position or whether more lens positions are necessary. An illustrative process for block  1130  with respect to some embodiments is shown in  FIG. 14 , which is discussed below. Generally, as discussed above, a camera or system designer may seek different peak positions or ratios of macro side and infinity side depending upon the preference of the designer or the precise application of the camera or mode of the camera. In some embodiments of the current invention, the goal position of the lens is positioned between ⅓ of the peaks on the macro side and ⅔ of the peaks on the infinity side. The exemplary illustration is in that precise situation, with 5 peaks on the macro side of position  901  and 10 peaks on the infinity side of position  901 . Therefore, in some embodiments, at block  1130  a determination will be made that no further lens positions are necessary. In this case, control proceeds to block  1135  and the last position (i.e.  901 ) is determined to be the final position. Alternatively, at block  1130 , an exemplary process (or part thereof) may be followed as shown in  FIG. 14 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 14 , which shows an exemplary process for block  1130  from  FIG. 11 , control initially rests in block  1405  where it is determined whether the current assessment of peak relationships is at the desired point. As discussed above, this determination may regard any ratio or relationship between macro side peaks and infinity side peaks, and/or rising and falling focus values. If the desired peak relationship has not been reached, then control moves to block  1425  where a determination is made if the lens is moving in the correct direction. For example, if the desired ratio of our illustration was 50% peaks on the infinity side and 50% on the macro side of the lens, then the analysis of block  1125  (from  FIG. 11 ) would reveal that line  901  is too far to the macro side. This is because only a third of the peaks are on the macro side of lens position  901 . Thus, if the 50-50 split was desired, then at block  1425  it would be determined that the direction of the lens must be reversed. Further, at block  1435  the direction can be reversed and then control can go back to block  1140  (of  FIG. 11 ) where the lens is actually moved. In some embodiments, the movement of the lens will not repeat stops that have already been analyzed. For example, in those embodiments, the lens might move to the position indicated by line  1250  and would not stop again at step  1001 . 
     Finally, with respect to direction changes, some embodiments may only examine the necessity of a direction change until a change has been made and thereafter forego the examination until a final focus is found. 
     Returning to block  1405  of  FIG. 14 , if the desired peak relationship has been found, control moves to block  1410  where it is determined whether a termination procedure may be followed to further adjust the lens with respect to the desired ratio. If no termination procedure is followed, then control passes back to block  1135  of  FIG. 11 . If a termination procedure is desired, control passes to block  1415  where final adjustments can be made. In some embodiments, final adjustments may involve continuing to move the lens in the same direction, for example, to position  1260  as shown in  FIG. 12 . Focus values would again be taken at the new position and a determination made whether the desired ratio had changed, i.e. in the case of our illustration whether the ⅔-⅓ relationship still existed. In one embodiment, the lens may continue to move in the same direction (repeating analysis at each stop) until the ratio is changed. In this manner, the process can find the most macro-sided position where the desired ratio is still maintained. The process may end when the desired ratio is violated. For example, at lens position  1260  (in  FIG. 12 ), the data of  FIG. 13 . in column  1320  shows that only 4 focus graphs are moving higher (FG- 4 ,  8 ,  12  and  15 ). Thus, the desired ratio has been breached. After the breach, a final lens position may be reached by any of the following: stepping back to the prior lens position; stepping back half way (or by another predetermined portion) to the prior lens position; or, iteratively moving the lens back (or back and forth) to find the position closest to the desired position. 
     Moving back to  FIG. 11  at block  1130 , if a final lens ratio has not been reached at block  1130 , control passes to block  1140  where the lens position is incremented. The process then returns to block  1120  to capture the (n+1)th image and the blocks are iterated until a final position is found. 
     Empirically, the inventors have determined that not all windows in the focus carry equivalently important or valuable information for the purpose of determining focus. To address this reality, some embodiments of the invention use a weighting system to enhance or diminish the focus values of each window and apply the same peak ratio analysis with respect to the weighted numbers. For example, some embodiments weight the focus values according to the position of the window in the frame—windows in presumably more relevant position (e.g. the middle) being weighted more. Other embodiments of the invention weight the focus values by contrasting the relative magnitudes of focus values between windows. For example, for any particular lens position, the focus values may be ranked by their magnitudes. Still in other embodiments, both the position of the window and the magnitude of the focus value may be considered. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , in some embodiments a weighted analysis may be used in block  1130  in order to more accurately focus the camera by giving more consideration to more valuable/relevant focus values. Like the process described above, a determination regarding whether a final focus is found can be made at block  1130  and if no final focus is found the lens may be moved (in an appropriate direction) and the process iterated as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 15 , a table is shown to facilitate an illustration of a weighting analysis in association with block  1130 . Column  1505  lists the focus window under consideration; column  1510  shows focus values for lens position  1 , which for illustration can be seen with respect to line  1001  of  FIG. 12 ; column  1510  shows focus values for lens position  2 , which for illustration can be seen with respect to line  901  of  FIG. 12 ; and, column  1520  indicates whether the sequential focus values for lens position  1  and lens position  2  are increasing (up) or decreasing (down)(“1” for increasing, “0” for decreasing). In column  1530 , a rank is assigned to each value of the most recent lens position, which in the case of this illustration is lens position  2 . In some embodiments such as this illustration, the focus graphs are ranked according to the magnitude of the focus value at the specified lens position. In one embodiment, the goal is to give more consideration to higher ranked focus graphs, thus the highest ranked value should be assigned the highest number. Any practical scheme can accomplish this purpose. For example, in the illustration, the highest ranked value (FG- 7 ) has the highest rank number (15) while the lowest ranked value (FG- 6 ) has the lowest value (1). In an alternative embodiment, the values may be ranked from 1 to n (n being 15 in the current example) and the rank number may be subtracted from the total number of focus graphs. In this arrangement, the lowest ranked focus graph will earn a zero. Any number of schemes might be derived for the ranking as long as a scheme enhances higher focus values and detracts from lower focus values. These ranking values shown in column  1525  can be added or multiplied by the actual focus value (column  1515 ) in order to bias the analysis toward more relevant windows. 
     For some embodiments, weighting may also be accomplished by considering the position of the focus window. For example, with reference to a window grid of  FIG. 7B , the center window may be more valuable and the edges may be less valuable. Alternatively, image content may help define a position factor for a focus window. For example, facial recognition or other content-discoverable indicators in the frame may align with a window thereby indicating more importance at that position in a window (e.g. windows that align with faces may be considered more relevant). With respect to the illustration of  FIG. 15 , a position factor has been assigned based upon prioritization of the center window. With additional reference to  FIG. 7B , window position  8  has been assigned the highest value of 1, while windows surrounding window  8  ( 2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  9 ,  14 ,  13 ,  12 , and  7 ) were assigned a 0.6 and the edge-placed windows ( 1 ,  6 ,  11 ,  5   10 , and  15 ) were assigned 0.2. The choice of how to weight a position can be selected by the designer as desired for the particular application. In addition, the choice to use either weighting factor to normalize or scale the values (e.g. the position factors vary between 0 and 1) is also a design choice. 
     In one embodiment, both the rank (column  1525 ) and the position (column  1530 ) may be used together form a combined weighting factor. Depending upon design choice, the combination of weight and position factors may be addition, multiplication or any mathematical function. Referring to the illustration in  FIG. 15 , the rank ( 1525 ) and position factor ( 1530 ) are multiplied to form a total weighting value shown in column  1535 . The total weighting value may be combined with the focus values to form a weighted value as illustrated in column  1540 . Depending upon design choice, the combination of total weight ( 1535 ) and focus value ( 1515 ) may be by addition, multiplication or any mathematical function. In the illustration, a function, which is indicated as a “1” in column  1520 , is employed where weights are only used to enhance the focus value if the focus values are sequentially rising between lens positions. If the sequential focus values are rising, the weighted values  1540  are derived by the addition of the total weight ( 1535 ) with the focus value ( 1515 ). If the sequential focus values are not rising (indicated by a “0” in column  1520 ) then the weighted value in column  1540  simply equals the magnitude of the focus value from column  1515 . Once a weighted value has been determined for each window (i.e. in column  1540 ), the sum of the weighted values is taken from the rising focus values. In our illustration, the weighted values representing rising focus values are shown in column  1545  and summed at the bottom of that column (41.95 in the example). 
     In one embodiment, the goal is to position the lens with one third of the overall weight on the macro side and two thirds of the overall weight on the infinity side. Thus the sum of the weighted up movers (representing the weight in the macro side of the lens—and 41.95 in the example) is compared to the overall sum of all the weighted values, which are totaled near the bottom of column  1540  (86.65 in the example). In order to adhere to the one-third/two-thirds ratio of the embodiment, the sum of the value of the up movers (41.95) must approximately equal one third of the total weighted values—the total being 85.65 in the example and one third the total shown at the very bottom of column  1540  as 28.55 in the example. If the sum of the weighted up movers (41.95 in the example) is less than one third of the sum of the total weights (28.55 in the example), the lens needs to be moved further in the macro direction. If the sum of the weighted up movers (41.95 in the example) is greater than one third of the sum of the total weights (28.55 in the example)—as it is in this example—, the lens needs to be moved in the infinity direction. Referring to  FIG. 11 , if the process moves to block  1140 , the lens is moved and focus graph data for another lens position is collected. The focus graph data is the same regardless of whether or not a weighting scheme is employed. In one embodiment, the weighting schemes are employed to decide whether the lens is in a correct position or must be moved. 
     As discussed above with respect to  FIGS. 11 and 14 , during a weighting-oriented analysis, the process of moving the lens and capturing images may stop when the ratio is close to one-third/two-thirds or as the designer chooses. Process  1400  may similarly apply to a weighting-oriented analysis regarding final adjustments and moving the lens, but the weighted values are employed to make decisions regarding lens position. 
     It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. The material has been presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention as claimed and is provided in the context of particular embodiments, variations of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art (e.g., many of the disclosed embodiments may be used in combination with each other). In addition, it will be understood that some of the operations identified herein may be performed in different orders. The scope of the invention therefore should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.”