Method and system for configuring an imaging device for the reception of digital pulse recognition information

• US 9,723,219 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2015
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ABL IP Holding LLC (Acuity Brands, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sumner, Jr., Robert, Ryan, Daniel, Staats, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US14/957,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20160088221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 348 61
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/484 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/387 Composing, repositioning or otherwise geometrically modifying originals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/57 Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/531 by controlling rolling shutters in CMOS SSIS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/60 Noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/144 Movement detection for video coding H04N19/503; analysis of motion in general G06T7/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/455 Demodulation-circuits

Abstract

In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for configuring one or more imaging sensors of an imaging device to capture digital images for digital pulse recognition demodulation. In some embodiments, the method includes initializing one or more imaging sensors of the imaging device, determining a subset of the one or more imaging sensors to configure, setting a configuration for each of the one or more imaging sensors of the subset by defining a region of interest as a metering area for each of the one or more imaging sensors of the subset and automatically adjusting a setting for each of the one or more imaging sensors of the subset, and adjusting input parameters of a demodulation function based on a device profile of the imaging device. In some embodiments, the adjusted setting is locked to prevent further adjustment of the adjusted setting.

Claims

1. A mobile device, comprising:

a rolling shutter camera;

a processor coupled to the rolling shutter camera;

a memory; and

software in the memory to be run by the processor, wherein running of the software by the processor configures the mobile device to implement functions, including functions to;

set an image capture configuration for the rolling shutter camera, wherein the image capture configuration of the rolling shutter camera optimizes image capture for digital pulse recognition demodulation;

adjust parameters of a demodulation function, wherein the demodulation function calculates image frequency content based on detected stripe width;

capture an image using the rolling shutter camera according to the image capture configuration; and

process the captured image using the adjusted demodulation function to obtain information from light based communication.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the implemented functions further include a function to lock the image capture configuration to prevent further adjustment of the adjusted setting.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the function to set the image capture configuration comprises a function to retrieve the image capture configuration from a remote server.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the function to set the image capture configuration comprises a function to set a rolling shutter speed of the rolling shutter camera.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the function to set the image capture configuration comprises a function to set a frame rate, a data format, an encoding scheme, or a color space for the rolling shutter camera.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the function to adjust the parameters of the demodulation function comprises a function to adjust the parameters based on the image capture configuration of the rolling shutter camera.

7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the function to process the captured image using the adjusted demodulation function includes adjusting, based on a rolling shutter speed of the rolling shutter camera from the image capture configuration, a plurality of frequencies, each one frequency corresponding to one stripe width of a plurality of stripe widths.

8. A mobile device, comprising:

a rolling shutter camera;

a processor coupled to the rolling shutter camera;

a memory; and

software in the memory to be run by the processor, wherein running of the software by the processor configures the mobile device to implement functions, including functions to;

initialize the rolling shutter camera;

set a configuration of the rolling shutter camera by;

defining a region of interest as a metering area for the rolling shutter camera; and

adjusting a setting for the rolling shutter camera;

adjust, based on a device profile of the mobile device, input parameters of a demodulation function, wherein the demodulation function calculates image frequency content based on detected stripe width;

capture an image using the rolling shutter camera; and

process the captured image using the adjusted demodulation function to obtain information from light based communication.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the function to set the configuration includes functions to:

define the region of interest as a brightest area of an image captured by the rolling shutter camera; and

adjust the setting by lowering the exposure time for the rolling shutter camera.

10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the function to set the configuration includes a function to adjust one of exposure, focus, saturation, white balance, zoom, contrast, brightness, gain, sharpness, ISO, resolution, image quality, scene selection, and metering mode.

11. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the function to initialize the rolling shutter camera comprises setting, for the rolling shutter camera, at least one of frame rate, data format, encoding scheme, and color space.

12. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the function to adjust input parameters includes a function to acquire the device profile from a remote server.

13. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the function to process the captured image using the adjusted demodulation function includes adjusting, based on a rolling shutter speed of the rolling shutter camera from the device profile, a plurality of frequencies, each one frequency corresponding to one stripe width of a plurality of stripe widths.

14. A mobile device, comprising:

a rolling shutter camera; and

a module coupled to the rolling shutter camera, the module configured to;

override automatic parameter adjustments of the rolling shutter camera to set a capture configuration for the rolling shutter camera, the automatic parameter adjustments being made by a mobile operating system of the mobile device and the capture configuration being optimized to capture one or more images of visible light modulated with data;

capture an image using the rolling shutter camera according to the capture configuration, the image including visible light modulated with data; and

processing the captured image to demodulate the data from the visible light.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the module is further configured to:

adjust, based on characteristics of the rolling shutter camera, parameters of a demodulation function of the mobile device.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the module is configured to adjust parameters of the demodulation function to optimize the demodulation function for detection of one or more stripes, the one or more stripes resulting from image processing of modulated visible light.

17. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the module is configured to override automatic parameter adjustments by adjusting at least one overridden automatic parameter adjustment related to exposure.

18. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the module is configured to override automatic parameter adjustments by adjusting at least one overridden automatic parameter adjustment related to focus.

19. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the module is configured to override automatic parameter adjustments by adjusting at least one overridden automatic parameter adjustment related to one of saturation, white balance, zoom, contrast, brightness, gain, sharpness, ISO, resolution, image quality, scene selection, or metering mode.

20. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the module is configured to set the capture configuration by setting a rolling shutter speed of the rolling shutter camera.

21. The mobile device of claim 14, further comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor,

wherein the module is a program in the memory for execution by the processor.