IMAGE STABILIZATION DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS

• US 20130308001A1
• Filed: 05/17/2012
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Jelinek, Jan
• Granted Patent: US 8,854,481 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/208.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6811 based on the image signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/684 performed by controlling the image sensor readout, e.g. by controlling the integration time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/6845 by combination of a plurality of images sequentially taken

Abstract

Image stabilization devices, methods, and systems are described herein. One image stabilization device includes a sensor having an array of pixels, wherein the sensor is configured to track a moving object using a number of the pixels, wherein the number of the pixels track only a particular portion of the moving object, and form an image of the moving object using the number of the pixels and their neighboring pixels that were not used to track the moving object.

Claims

1. An image stabilization device, comprising:

a sensor having an array of pixels, wherein the sensor is configured to;

track a moving object using a number of the pixels, wherein the number of the pixels track only a particular portion of the moving object; and

form an image of the moving object using the number of the pixels and their neighboring pixels that were not used to track the moving object.

2. The image stabilization device of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to:

receive energy from the moving object; and

identify the particular portion of the moving object using the received energy.

3. The image stabilization device of claim 1, wherein the particular portion of the moving object is an area on the moving object that projects an irradiance profile on the sensor with a unique Gaussian curvature.

4. The image stabilization device of claim 3, wherein the unique Gaussian curvature is an extremum Gaussian curvature or a measure related to the extremum curvature.

5. The image stabilization device of claim 1, wherein:

the sensor includes a pre-defined, generic irradiance surface curvature measure template; and

the sensor is configured to identify the particular portion of the moving object by locating an extremum of the pre-defined, generic irradiance surface curvature measure template.

6. A method of operating an image stabilization device, comprising:

receiving energy from a moving object;

identifying a particular portion of the moving object using a portion of the received energy;

tracking the moving object by tracking only the particular portion of the moving object; and

forming an image of the moving object or its fragment using the received energy from both the particular portion of the moving object and its neighboring area.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method includes receiving the energy from the moving object without splitting the energy between two or more receptor arrays.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method includes:

receiving energy from an additional moving object while receiving energy from the moving object;

identifying a particular portion of the additional moving object using a portion of the energy received from the additional moving object;

tracking the additional moving object while tracking the moving object by tracking only the particular portion of the additional moving object; and

forming an image of the additional moving object or its fragment while forming the image of the moving object or its fragment.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the method includes identifying the particular portion of the moving object and tracking the particular portion of the moving object by sensing electric fields generated by charges in the portion of the received energy.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the method includes forming the image of the moving object or its fragment by counting a number of charges in the received energy from both the particular portion of the moving object and its neighboring area.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the method includes forming the image of the moving object or its fragment by counting a number of charges in the received energy from a neighboring area of the particular portion of the moving object.

12. An image stabilization device, comprising:

a single sensor having an array of pixels, wherein the single sensor is configured to;

identify a particular marker on a moving object and reference its location by a single pixel;

track the moving object using one of the pixels, wherein the pixel used to track the moving object tracks only the particular marker on the moving object; and

form an image of the moving object using the pixel that tracks the particular marker and its neighboring pixels that were not used to track the moving object.

13. The image stabilization device of claim 12, wherein the single sensor is configured to identify the particular marker on the moving object by:

counting, by each pixel, a number of electrons collected in its potential well;

comparing, by each pixel, the number of electrons collected in its potential well to a minimum electron threshold;

determining, by a pixel whose number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold, a Gaussian curvature or a related measure at its location;

comparing, by the pixel whose number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold, an absolute value of the determined curvature to a minimum curvature threshold;

identifying, by a pixel whose number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and whose absolute value of the determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold, the particular marker on the moving object.

14. The image stabilization device of claim 13, wherein the particular marker on the moving object is a locally unique feature of an irradiance profile projected on the single sensor by the moving object.

15. The image stabilization device of claim 13, wherein:

the image stabilization device includes a controller; and

the pixel whose number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and whose determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold is configured to report its location in the array to the controller.

16. The image stabilization device of claim 15, wherein the image stabilization device includes a charge accumulator configured to hold a first snapshot associated with the pixel whose number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and whose determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold.

17. The image stabilization device of claim 16, wherein:

the image stabilization device includes a charge buffer; and

the single sensor is configured to transfer to the charge buffer, upon the reporting of the location in the array of the pixel that determines its curvature determination meets or exceeds the pre-defined curvature uniqueness threshold to the controller, all charges out of the neighboring pixels of the pixel that determines its curvature determination meets or exceeds the pre-defined curvature uniqueness threshold.

18. The image stabilization device of claim 17, wherein the single sensor is configured to, upon the transferring of the charges out of the neighboring pixels:

perform, by each pixel, an additional comparison of the number of electrons collected in its potential well to the minimum electron threshold;

determine, by a pixel whose additional comparison indicates the number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold, a Gaussian curvature or a related measure at its location;

perform, by the pixel whose additional comparison indicates the number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold, an additional comparison of the determined curvature to the minimum curvature threshold; and

report, by the pixel whose additional comparisons indicate the number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and the determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold, its location in the array to the controller.

19. The image stabilization device of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to:

compare the location in the array of the pixel whose additional comparisons indicate the number of electrons collected in its potential wells meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and the determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold with the location in the array of the pixel whose number of electrons collected in its potential well meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and whose determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold; and

shift, based on the comparison of the locations, the first snapshot and/or a second snapshot associated with the pixel whose additional comparisons indicate the number of electrons collected in its potential wells meets or exceeds the minimum electron threshold and the determined curvature meets or exceeds the minimum curvature threshold such that the pixel associated with the first snapshot and the pixel associated with the second snapshot are aligned.

20. The image stabilization device of claim 19, wherein the charge buffer is configured to hold the second snapshot.