Scannerless range imaging system having high dynamic range
First Claim
1. A scannerless range imaging system having extended dynamic range for capturing range information from illumination reflected from a scene, said scannerless range imaging system comprising:
- an illumination system for illuminating the scene with modulated illumination of a predetermined modulation frequency, whereby some of the modulated illumination is reflected from objects in the scene;
an image intensifier receiving the reflected illumination and including a modulating stage for modulating the reflected modulated illumination from the scene with the predetermined modulation frequency;
an image responsive element arranged in an optical path of the image intensifier, said image responsive element including an array of individual pixels for capturing images output by the image intensifier, including at least one image corresponding to the reflected modulated illumination, whereby the modulation of the reflected modulated illumination incorporates a phase delay corresponding to the distance of objects in the scene from the range imaging system; and
a transmittance filter including a plurality of filter elements having a spatially varying pattern of transmittance, said filter elements arranged in a one-to-one mapping with respect to the pixels forming the image responsive element, whereby the spatially varying pattern of transmittance provides a plurality of separate exposures which are subsequently combined to form an output image with an expanded dynamic range.
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Abstract
A scannerless range imaging system includes an illumination system for illuminating a scene with modulated illumination of a predetermined modulation frequency, and an image intensifier receiving reflected modulated illumination and including a modulating stage for modulating the reflected modulated illumination from the scene with the predetermined modulation frequency. An image responsive element includes an array of individual pixels for capturing images output by the image intensifier, whereby the modulation of the reflected modulated illumination incorporates a phase delay corresponding to the distance of objects in the scene from the range imaging system. A transmittance filter, including a plurality of filter elements having a spatially varying pattern of transmittance, are arranged in a one-to-one mapping with respect to the pixels forming the image responsive element. The spatially varying pattern of transmittance provides a plurality of separate exposures which are subsequently combined to form an output image with an expanded dynamic range.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A scannerless range imaging system having extended dynamic range for capturing range information from illumination reflected from a scene, said scannerless range imaging system comprising:
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an illumination system for illuminating the scene with modulated illumination of a predetermined modulation frequency, whereby some of the modulated illumination is reflected from objects in the scene;
an image intensifier receiving the reflected illumination and including a modulating stage for modulating the reflected modulated illumination from the scene with the predetermined modulation frequency;
an image responsive element arranged in an optical path of the image intensifier, said image responsive element including an array of individual pixels for capturing images output by the image intensifier, including at least one image corresponding to the reflected modulated illumination, whereby the modulation of the reflected modulated illumination incorporates a phase delay corresponding to the distance of objects in the scene from the range imaging system; and
a transmittance filter including a plurality of filter elements having a spatially varying pattern of transmittance, said filter elements arranged in a one-to-one mapping with respect to the pixels forming the image responsive element, whereby the spatially varying pattern of transmittance provides a plurality of separate exposures which are subsequently combined to form an output image with an expanded dynamic range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A color scannerless range imaging system having extended dynamic range for capturing range information and color information from illumination reflected from a scene, said scannerless range imaging system comprising:
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an illumination system for illuminating the scene with modulated illumination of a predetermined modulation frequency, whereby some of the modulated illumination is reflected from objects in the scene;
an image intensifier receiving the reflected illumination and including a modulating stage for modulating the reflected modulated illumination from the scene with the predetermined modulation frequency;
an image responsive element arranged in an optical path of the image intensifier, said image responsive element including an array of individual pixels for capturing images output by the image intensifier, including at least one image corresponding to the reflected modulated illumination, whereby the modulation of the reflected modulated illumination incorporates a phase delay corresponding to the distance of objects in the scene from the range imaging system; and
a transmittance filter including a plurality of color filter elements having a spatially varying pattern of transmittance and arranged relative to the image intensifier to provide a color texture image, said color filter elements arranged in a one-to-one mapping with respect to the pixels forming the image responsive element, whereby the spatially varying pattern of transmittance provides a plurality of separate color exposures which are subsequently combined to form an output image with an expanded dynamic range.
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15. A method for obtaining high resolution range estimates in a scannerless range imaging system from a group of pixels having a spatially varying pattern of exposure provided by a transmittance filter overlying the pixels, wherein a bundle of data is obtained for each pixel, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) computing data comprising an initial range estimate and an initial phase estimate from a bundle of data for a first pixel in the group;
(b) computing a data integrity measure for the bundle of data from the first pixel;
(c) accepting the initial range estimate if the data integrity measure is deemed adequate relative to an integrity threshold;
(d) if the bundle of data is not acceptable, forming an error boundary relative to the initial range estimate;
(e) computing data integrity measures for the bundles of data for neighboring pixels in the group and rank ordering the results;
(f) computing a phase estimate for the highest ranked pixel;
(g) accepting the phase estimate for the highest ranked pixel if the phase estimate is within the error boundary;
(h) otherwise, repeating steps (f) and (g) for the other neighboring pixels until an acceptable phase estimate is determined; and
(i) utilizing the phase estimate with other phase estimates similarly generated from other groups of pixels to provide a plurality of separate exposures which are subsequently combined to form an output image with an expanded dynamic range.
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Specification