US 12,556,797 B1Granted

Time delayed coordinated illumination system

AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.

InventorsEvan Perillo, Kyle Ryan Lashbrook, Tej Harshad Patel, Yufei Jia, Baomin Wang, Brendan Pratt, Abhinav Kashyap, Connor Lang

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Abstract

An input device uses banks of spatially separated light sources to selectively illuminate a field of view to acquire input image data used for biometric identification. In one implementation a plurality of banks of light sources are arranged from a first end to a second end of a device. Each bank may comprise light sources that are arranged on both sides of a device centerline. A camera with a rolling shutter acquires rows of image data beginning at the first end and scanning to the second end. While the camera is operating, banks of lights are progressively activated in coordination with the rolling shutter to illuminate a portion of a field of view and an object within, such as a hand, being imaged. This results in high-contrast input image data that is well illuminated, while reducing overall power requirements. The input image data may then be processed for identification.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A device comprising:

a plurality of banks of light sources, wherein:
each bank comprises a first light source proximate to a first side and a second light source proximate to a second side;
a first bank is proximate to a first end;
a second bank is between the first bank and a third bank;
and
the third bank is proximate to a second end;
a camera comprising a rolling shutter;
a memory, storing first computer-executable instructions;
and
a hardware processor to execute the first computer-executable instructions to:
determine light sequence data indicative of a sequence of operation of the plurality of banks of light sources;
acquire, using the rolling shutter of the camera:
a first row of image data from a first time to a second time,
a second row of image data from the second time to a third time, and
a third row of image data from the third time to a fourth time;
and
operate, based on the light sequence data, the plurality of banks of light sources such that:
the first bank illuminates a first portion of a field-of-view (FOV) that corresponds to the first row of image data from the first time to the second time,
the second bank illuminates a second portion of the FOV corresponding to the second row of image data from the second time to the third time, and
the third bank illuminates a third portion of the FOV corresponding to the third row of image data from the third time to a fourth time.

17 more elements

A device comprising:

a camera having a field of view (FOV) extending from a first end to a second end, the camera comprising an image sensor that is scanned in a scan direction during operation to acquire rows of image data, wherein each row is perpendicular to the scan direction;
a first light source having a first pattern of light emitted during operation that illuminates a first portion of the FOV;
a second light source having a second pattern of light emitted during operation that illuminates a second portion of the FOV, wherein the second light source is a first distance from the first light source;
a memory, storing first computer-executable instructions;
and
a hardware processor to execute the first computer-executable instructions to:
determine light sequence data indicative of a sequence of operation of the first light source and the second light source;
operate, beginning at a first time, the image sensor to begin scanning to acquire input image data, wherein the input image data comprises:
first modality image data acquired using a first modality and representing first modality features of a target, and
second modality image data acquired using a second modality and representing second modality features of the target;
and
operate at the first time, based on the light sequence data, one or more of the first light source or the second light source.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.