Image stabilization devices, methods, and systems

• US 8,854,481 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2012
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Jelinek, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): OSINSKI, MICHAEL S
• Application Number:
  US13/474,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20130308001A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/208.14
• 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;

identify a particular portion of a 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 an electron threshold;

determining, by any pixels whose number of electrons collected in their respective potential well meets or exceeds the electron threshold, a Gaussian curvature at their respective location;

comparing, by the pixels whose number of electrons collected in their respective potential well meets or exceeds the electron threshold, an absolute value of their respective determined Gaussian curvature to a curvature threshold; and

identifying, by a number of pixels whose number of electrons collected in their respective potential well meets or exceeds the electron threshold and whose absolute value of their respective determined Gaussian curvature meets or exceeds the curvature threshold, the particular portion of the moving object;

track the moving object using the number of the pixels, wherein the number of the pixels track only the 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, by a sensor having an array of pixels, energy from a moving object;

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

determining, by any pixels whose number of electrons collected in their respective potential well meets or exceeds the electron threshold, a Gaussian curvature at their respective location;

comparing, by the pixels whose number of electrons collected in their respective potential well meets or exceeds the electron threshold, an absolute value of their respective determined Gaussian curvature to a curvature threshold; and

identifying, by a number of pixels whose number of electrons collected in their respective potential well meets or exceeds the electron threshold and whose absolute value of their respective determined Gaussian curvature meets or exceeds the curvature threshold, the particular portion of the moving object;

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 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; and

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;

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 particular marker on the moving object is a locally unique feature of an irradiance profile projected on the single sensor by the moving object.

14. The image stabilization device of claim 12, 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.