Optical sensor diagnostics

An optical sensor, the optical sensor comprising a photodetector, an integrator, and circuitry connecting the photodetector with the integrator such that a signal from the photodetector, or a processed version thereof, can be accumulated on the integrator, the optical sensor comprising a controller configured for:

• obtaining an initial integrated signal at an initial frame;
• at least once executing the steps of changing at least one control parameter of the optical sensor, and obtaining one or more subsequent integrated signals at a subsequent frame;
• wherein integrated signals are obtained per frame for each pixel, and a frame comprises at least one sequence of resetting the optical sensor and accumulating, during an integration time, a signal from the circuitry which connects the photodetector with the integrator, and reading the integrated signal wherein the integrated signal is representative for the amount of incoming light on the photodetector and is a calculated voltage difference between an output voltage before and after the integration time;
• obtaining a characteristic of the optical sensor from the obtained integrated signals;
• and
• comparing the obtained characteristic with a pre-determined characteristic of the optical sensor, wherein the pre-determined characteristic is defined in function of the at least one control parameter, to diagnose the optical sensor to detect if a fault is present in each pixel of the optical sensor.

A camera comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising a photodetector, an integrator, and circuitry connecting the photodetector with the integrator the camera comprising a controller which is for each of the pixels configured for:

• obtaining an initial integrated signal at an initial frame;
• at least once executing the steps of changing at least one control parameter of the camera, and obtaining one or more subsequent integrated signals at a subsequent frame;
• wherein integrated signals are obtained per frame for each pixel, and a frame comprises at least one sequence of resetting the optical sensor and accumulating, during an integration time, a signal from the circuitry which connects the photodetector with the integrator, and reading the integrated signal wherein the integrated signal is representative for the amount of incoming light on the photodetector and is a calculated voltage difference between an output voltage of the optical sensor before and after the integration time;
• obtaining a characteristic of the optical sensor from the obtained integrated signals;
• and
• comparing the obtained characteristic with a pre-determined characteristic of the optical sensor, wherein the pre-determined characteristic is defined in function of the at least one control parameter, to diagnose the optical sensor to detect if a fault is present in each pixel of the optical sensor.