Flexible pixel-wise exposure control and readout
AssigneeThe Johns Hopkins University
InventorsJie Zhang, Ralph Etienne-Cummings, Tao Xiong, Trac D. Tran, Sang H. Chin
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Abstract
A pixel having a variable exposure for a scene capture device, the pixel comprising a photodiode, a buffer and a memory element and a switching mechanism. The memory element is configured to store an exposure control bit and the switching mechanism configured to control a variable exposure period of the photodiode based on the exposure control bit and to reset a voltage on said photodiode to a reference voltage.
Claims22
A pixel for a scene capture device, said pixel comprising:
- a photodiode;
- a buffer;
- a memory element configured to store an exposure control bit;
- and
- a switching mechanism configured to control a variable exposure period of said photodiode based on said exposure control bit and to reset a voltage on said photodiode to a reference voltage;
- wherein:
- said switching mechanism is configured to disconnect said photodiode from said buffer and said reference voltage during said variable exposure period;
- or
- said switching mechanism comprises a first switch selectively coupling said photodiode to said buffer to control said variable exposure of said photodiode and a second switch configured to reset said photodiode to a reference voltage.
An image capture device comprising:
- a plurality of pixels comprising:
- a photodiode;
- a buffer;
- a memory element configured to store an exposure control bit;
- and
- a switching mechanism configured to control a variable exposure period of said photodiode based on said exposure control bit and to reset a voltage on said photodiode to a reference voltage;
- a plurality of drivers coupled to said plurality of pixels, wherein said plurality of drivers is configured to:
- receive a random exposure sequence;
- and
- provide an exposure control bit to a memory element of each pixel of said plurality of pixels based on said random exposure sequence;
- and
- a plurality of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) coupled to said plurality of pixels.
A method for reconstructing a video from a coded image, said method comprising:
- receiving pixel values and one or more corresponding exposure patterns corresponding to said coded image;
- determining an optimal video corresponding to the coded image based on a dictionary by solving an inverse problem with said dictionary for said pixel values;
- and
- outputting said optimal video to an storage device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.