Apparatus and method for capturing still images and video using coded aperture techniques

• US 20080001069A1
• Filed: 09/06/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Axel Busboom, John Speck, Roger Laan, Stephen Perlman, Tim Cotter
• Original Assignee: Axel Busboom, John Speck, Roger Laan, Stephen Perlman, Tim Cotter
• Inventors: Perlman, Stephen, Laan, Roger, Cotter, Tim, Busboom, Axel, Speck, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,767,950 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/208.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2207/129 Coded aperture imaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/60 Noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise

Abstract

A system is described for capturing images comprising: a display for displaying graphical images and text; a plurality of apertures formed in the display; an image detector array configured behind the display and configured to sense light transmitted through the apertures in the display, the light reflected from a subject positioned in front of the display; and image processing logic to generate image data using the light transmitted through the apertures, the image data representing an image of a subject.

Claims

1. A data processing system for capturing images comprising:

a plurality of apertures formed in the display, the plurality of apertures arranged according to a coded aperture mask pattern, the coded aperture mask pattern comprising an arrangement of apertures suitable for image reconstruction by means of Coded Aperture Imaging (“

CAI”

) decoding;

an image detector array positioned behind the display and configured to sense light transmitted through apertures in the display, the light reflected from a subject positioned in front of the display; and

image processing logic to generate image data using the light transmitted through the apertures, the image data representing an image of the subject.

2. The data processing system as in claim 1 wherein the image detector array is a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (“

CMOS”

) array comprised of a plurality of CMOS image sensors.

3. The data processing system as in claim 1 wherein the image detector array is comprised of a plurality of Charge Coupled Devices (“

CCDs”

).

4. The data processing system as in claim 1 wherein the image processing logic comprises CAI decoder logic.

5. The data processing system as in claim 4 wherein the apertures are arranged in a Modified Uniformly Redundant Array (“

MURA”

) pattern and wherein the CAI decoder logic comprises MURA decoder logic.

6. The data processing system as in claim 4 wherein the apertures are arranged in a Uniformly Redundant Array (“

URA”

) pattern and wherein the CAI decoder logic comprises URA decoder logic.

7. The data processing system as in claim 4 wherein the apertures are arranged in a Perfect Binary Array (“

PBA”

) pattern and wherein the CAI decoder logic comprises PBA decoder logic.

8. The data processing system as in claim 1 further comprising:

a graphics processing unit to reproduce an image of the subject on a display device using the image data generated by the image processing logic.

9. The data processing system as in claim 1 further comprising:

a storage device to store the image data for later retrieval.

10. The data processing system as in claim 1 wherein the image processing logic further, comprises:

an analog-to-digital converter to generate digital data representing the image; and

an image reconstruction processor to reconstruct the image into a grayscale or a color image.

11. The data processing system as in claim 1 implemented within a portable data processing device, the portable data processing device having both wireless telephony capabilities and data processing capabilities.