Fast Bitmap Blur For Android SDK

Question

Currently in an Android application that I'm developing I'm looping through the pixels of an image to blur it. This takes about 30 seconds on a 640x480 image.

While browsing apps in the Android Market I came across one that includes a blur feature and their blur is very fast (like 5 seconds) so they must be using a different method of blurring.

Anyone know a faster way other than looping through the pixels?

Answer 1

This code is work perfect for me

Bitmap tempbg = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(),R.drawable.b1); //Load a background.
Bitmap final_Bitmap = BlurImage(tempbg);


@SuppressLint("NewApi")
Bitmap BlurImage (Bitmap input)
{
    try
    {
    RenderScript  rsScript = RenderScript.create(getApplicationContext());
    Allocation alloc = Allocation.createFromBitmap(rsScript, input);

    ScriptIntrinsicBlur blur = ScriptIntrinsicBlur.create(rsScript,   Element.U8_4(rsScript));
    blur.setRadius(21);
    blur.setInput(alloc);

    Bitmap result = Bitmap.createBitmap(input.getWidth(), input.getHeight(), Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888);
    Allocation outAlloc = Allocation.createFromBitmap(rsScript, result);

    blur.forEach(outAlloc);
    outAlloc.copyTo(result);

    rsScript.destroy();
    return result;
    }
    catch (Exception e) {
        // TODO: handle exception
        return input;
    }

}

Answer 2

Thanks @Yahel for the code. Posting the same method with alpha channel blurring support as it took me some time to make it work correctly so it may save someone's time:

/**
 * Stack Blur v1.0 from
 * http://www.quasimondo.com/StackBlurForCanvas/StackBlurDemo.html
 * Java Author: Mario Klingemann <mario at quasimondo.com>
 * http://incubator.quasimondo.com
 * <p/>
 * created Feburary 29, 2004
 * Android port : Yahel Bouaziz <yahel at kayenko.com>
 * http://www.kayenko.com
 * ported april 5th, 2012
 * <p/>
 * This is a compromise between Gaussian Blur and Box blur
 * It creates much better looking blurs than Box Blur, but is
 * 7x faster than my Gaussian Blur implementation.
 * <p/>
 * I called it Stack Blur because this describes best how this
 * filter works internally: it creates a kind of moving stack
 * of colors whilst scanning through the image. Thereby it
 * just has to add one new block of color to the right side
 * of the stack and remove the leftmost color. The remaining
 * colors on the topmost layer of the stack are either added on
 * or reduced by one, depending on if they are on the right or
 * on the left side of the stack.
 * <p/>
 * If you are using this algorithm in your code please add
 * the following line:
 * Stack Blur Algorithm by Mario Klingemann <[e-mail]>
 */

public static Bitmap fastblur(Bitmap sentBitmap, float scale, int radius) {

    int width = Math.round(sentBitmap.getWidth() * scale);
    int height = Math.round(sentBitmap.getHeight() * scale);
    sentBitmap = Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(sentBitmap, width, height, false);

    Bitmap bitmap = sentBitmap.copy(sentBitmap.getConfig(), true);

    if (radius < 1) {
        return (null);
    }

    int w = bitmap.getWidth();
    int h = bitmap.getHeight();

    int[] pix = new int[w * h];
    Log.e("pix", w + " " + h + " " + pix.length);
    bitmap.getPixels(pix, 0, w, 0, 0, w, h);

    int wm = w - 1;
    int hm = h - 1;
    int wh = w * h;
    int div = radius + radius + 1;

    int r[] = new int[wh];
    int g[] = new int[wh];
    int b[] = new int[wh];
    int a[] = new int[wh];
    int rsum, gsum, bsum, asum, x, y, i, p, yp, yi, yw;
    int vmin[] = new int[Math.max(w, h)];

    int divsum = (div + 1) >> 1;
    divsum *= divsum;
    int dv[] = new int[256 * divsum];
    for (i = 0; i < 256 * divsum; i++) {
        dv[i] = (i / divsum);
    }

    yw = yi = 0;

    int[][] stack = new int[div][4];
    int stackpointer;
    int stackstart;
    int[] sir;
    int rbs;
    int r1 = radius + 1;
    int routsum, goutsum, boutsum, aoutsum;
    int rinsum, ginsum, binsum, ainsum;

    for (y = 0; y < h; y++) {
        rinsum = ginsum = binsum = ainsum = routsum = goutsum = boutsum = aoutsum = rsum = gsum = bsum = asum = 0;
        for (i = -radius; i <= radius; i++) {
            p = pix[yi + Math.min(wm, Math.max(i, 0))];
            sir = stack[i + radius];
            sir[0] = (p & 0xff0000) >> 16;
            sir[1] = (p & 0x00ff00) >> 8;
            sir[2] = (p & 0x0000ff);
            sir[3] = 0xff & (p >> 24);

            rbs = r1 - Math.abs(i);
            rsum += sir[0] * rbs;
            gsum += sir[1] * rbs;
            bsum += sir[2] * rbs;
            asum += sir[3] * rbs;
            if (i > 0) {
                rinsum += sir[0];
                ginsum += sir[1];
                binsum += sir[2];
                ainsum += sir[3];
            } else {
                routsum += sir[0];
                goutsum += sir[1];
                boutsum += sir[2];
                aoutsum += sir[3];
            }
        }
        stackpointer = radius;

        for (x = 0; x < w; x++) {

            r[yi] = dv[rsum];
            g[yi] = dv[gsum];
            b[yi] = dv[bsum];
            a[yi] = dv[asum];

            rsum -= routsum;
            gsum -= goutsum;
            bsum -= boutsum;
            asum -= aoutsum;

            stackstart = stackpointer - radius + div;
            sir = stack[stackstart % div];

            routsum -= sir[0];
            goutsum -= sir[1];
            boutsum -= sir[2];
            aoutsum -= sir[3];

            if (y == 0) {
                vmin[x] = Math.min(x + radius + 1, wm);
            }
            p = pix[yw + vmin[x]];

            sir[0] = (p & 0xff0000) >> 16;
            sir[1] = (p & 0x00ff00) >> 8;
            sir[2] = (p & 0x0000ff);
            sir[3] = 0xff & (p >> 24);

            rinsum += sir[0];
            ginsum += sir[1];
            binsum += sir[2];
            ainsum += sir[3];

            rsum += rinsum;
            gsum += ginsum;
            bsum += binsum;
            asum += ainsum;

            stackpointer = (stackpointer + 1) % div;
            sir = stack[(stackpointer) % div];

            routsum += sir[0];
            goutsum += sir[1];
            boutsum += sir[2];
            aoutsum += sir[3];

            rinsum -= sir[0];
            ginsum -= sir[1];
            binsum -= sir[2];
            ainsum -= sir[3];

            yi++;
        }
        yw += w;
    }
    for (x = 0; x < w; x++) {
        rinsum = ginsum = binsum = ainsum = routsum = goutsum = boutsum = aoutsum = rsum = gsum = bsum = asum = 0;
        yp = -radius * w;
        for (i = -radius; i <= radius; i++) {
            yi = Math.max(0, yp) + x;

            sir = stack[i + radius];

            sir[0] = r[yi];
            sir[1] = g[yi];
            sir[2] = b[yi];
            sir[3] = a[yi];

            rbs = r1 - Math.abs(i);

            rsum += r[yi] * rbs;
            gsum += g[yi] * rbs;
            bsum += b[yi] * rbs;
            asum += a[yi] * rbs;

            if (i > 0) {
                rinsum += sir[0];
                ginsum += sir[1];
                binsum += sir[2];
                ainsum += sir[3];
            } else {
                routsum += sir[0];
                goutsum += sir[1];
                boutsum += sir[2];
                aoutsum += sir[3];
            }

            if (i < hm) {
                yp += w;
            }
        }
        yi = x;
        stackpointer = radius;
        for (y = 0; y < h; y++) {
            pix[yi] = (dv[asum] << 24) | (dv[rsum] << 16) | (dv[gsum] << 8) | dv[bsum];

            rsum -= routsum;
            gsum -= goutsum;
            bsum -= boutsum;
            asum -= aoutsum;

            stackstart = stackpointer - radius + div;
            sir = stack[stackstart % div];

            routsum -= sir[0];
            goutsum -= sir[1];
            boutsum -= sir[2];
            aoutsum -= sir[3];

            if (x == 0) {
                vmin[y] = Math.min(y + r1, hm) * w;
            }
            p = x + vmin[y];


            sir[0] = r[p];
            sir[1] = g[p];
            sir[2] = b[p];
            sir[3] = a[p];

            rinsum += sir[0];
            ginsum += sir[1];
            binsum += sir[2];
            ainsum += sir[3];

            rsum += rinsum;
            gsum += ginsum;
            bsum += binsum;
            asum += ainsum;

            stackpointer = (stackpointer + 1) % div;
            sir = stack[stackpointer];

            routsum += sir[0];
            goutsum += sir[1];
            boutsum += sir[2];
            aoutsum += sir[3];

            rinsum -= sir[0];
            ginsum -= sir[1];
            binsum -= sir[2];
            ainsum -= sir[3];

            yi += w;
        }
    }

    Log.e("pix", w + " " + h + " " + pix.length);
    bitmap.setPixels(pix, 0, w, 0, 0, w, h);

    return (bitmap);
}

Answer 3

This worked fine for me: How to Blur Images Efficiently with Android's RenderScript

public class BlurBuilder {
    private static final float BITMAP_SCALE = 0.4f;
    private static final float BLUR_RADIUS = 7.5f;

    @SuppressLint("NewApi")
    public static Bitmap blur(Context context, Bitmap image) {
        int width = Math.round(image.getWidth() * BITMAP_SCALE);
        int height = Math.round(image.getHeight() * BITMAP_SCALE);

        Bitmap inputBitmap = Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(image, width, height,
            false);
        Bitmap outputBitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(inputBitmap);

        RenderScript rs = RenderScript.create(context);
        ScriptIntrinsicBlur theIntrinsic = ScriptIntrinsicBlur.create(rs,
            Element.U8_4(rs));
        Allocation tmpIn = Allocation.createFromBitmap(rs, inputBitmap);
        Allocation tmpOut = Allocation.createFromBitmap(rs, outputBitmap);
        theIntrinsic.setRadius(BLUR_RADIUS);
        theIntrinsic.setInput(tmpIn);
        theIntrinsic.forEach(tmpOut);
        tmpOut.copyTo(outputBitmap);

        return outputBitmap;
    }
}

Answer 4

For future Googlers who choose NDK approach - i find reliable mentioned stackblur algorithm. I found C++ implementation which does not rely on SSE here - http://www.antigrain.com/__code/include/agg_blur.h.html#stack_blur_rgba32 which contains some optimizations using static tables like:

static unsigned short const stackblur_mul[255] =
{
    512,512,456,512,328,456,335,512,405,328,271,456,388,335,292,512,
    454,405,364,328,298,271,496,456,420,388,360,335,312,292,273,512,
    482,454,428,405,383,364,345,328,312,298,284,271,259,496,475,456,
    437,420,404,388,374,360,347,335,323,312,302,292,282,273,265,512,
    497,482,468,454,441,428,417,405,394,383,373,364,354,345,337,328,
    320,312,305,298,291,284,278,271,265,259,507,496,485,475,465,456,
    446,437,428,420,412,404,396,388,381,374,367,360,354,347,341,335,
    329,323,318,312,307,302,297,292,287,282,278,273,269,265,261,512,
    505,497,489,482,475,468,461,454,447,441,435,428,422,417,411,405,
    399,394,389,383,378,373,368,364,359,354,350,345,341,337,332,328,
    324,320,316,312,309,305,301,298,294,291,287,284,281,278,274,271,
    268,265,262,259,257,507,501,496,491,485,480,475,470,465,460,456,
    451,446,442,437,433,428,424,420,416,412,408,404,400,396,392,388,
    385,381,377,374,370,367,363,360,357,354,350,347,344,341,338,335,
    332,329,326,323,320,318,315,312,310,307,304,302,299,297,294,292,
    289,287,285,282,280,278,275,273,271,269,267,265,263,261,259
};

static unsigned char const stackblur_shr[255] =
{
    9, 11, 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 16, 17,
    17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 19,
    19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 20, 20, 20,
    20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 21,
    21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21,
    21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22,
    22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22,
    22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 23,
    23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23,
    23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23,
    23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23,
    23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24,
    24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24,
    24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24,
    24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24,
    24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24
}; 

I made modification of stackblur algorithm for multi-core systems - it can be found here http://vitiy.info/stackblur-algorithm-multi-threaded-blur-for-cpp/ As more and more devices have 4 cores - optimizations give 4x speed benefit.

Answer 5

For those still having issues with Renderscript support library on x86 chipsets, please have a look at this post by the creator of the library. It looks like the fix he prepared didn't make it somehow to the Build Tools v20.0.0, so he provides the files to fix it manually and a brief explanation of how to do it.

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?can=2&start=0&num=100&q=&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20Stars&groupby=&sort=&id=71347

Answer 6

from Mario Viviani blog one can use this solution from 17 Android Version:

https://plus.google.com/+MarioViviani/posts/fhuzYkji9zz

or

https://gist.github.com/Mariuxtheone/903c35b4927c0df18cf8