# US 9,521,398 B1 · Modular configurable camera system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,521,398 B1 - Document ID: US9521398B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 13/437,854 - Filed: 2012-04-02 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2011-04-03 - Assignees: GoPro, Inc. - Applicants: Nicholas D. Woodman; David A. Newman; Stephen B. Schmidt - Inventors: Nicholas D. Woodman; David A. Newman; Stephen B. Schmidt - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9521398B1 ## CPC - H04N 13/296: Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof - G03B 35/00: Stereoscopic photography - G03B 37/04: with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view - H04N 5/073: for mutually locking plural sources of synchronising signals, e.g. studios or relay stations - H04N 13/239: using two two-dimensional [2D] image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance (H04N13/243 takes precedence) - H04N 13/243: using three or more two-dimensional [2D] image sensors - H04N 13/286: having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes - H04N 23/667: Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes - H04N 23/698: for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture - H04N 23/90: Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - G03B: APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR (optical parts of such apparatus G02B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; apparatus for processing exposed photographic materials G03D) ## Abstract A system and a process configuration generates a unitary rendered image for a video from at least two cameras. The configuration detects a communication coupling of at least two cameras and determines a master camera and a slave camera. The configuration determines an orientation of camera sensor of the master camera and the slave camera and determines a first frame of a video for a synchronization point for a start of a video capture. The configuration captures and reads images from the master camera sensor and the slave camera sensor in response to the start of the video capture and orientation of the camera sensors. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for capturing a video corresponding to a first channel of three-dimensional content, the method comprising: determining an orientation of a camera sensor of a first camera as one of an upright orientation or an upside-down orientation, wherein in the upright orientation, a top side of the first camera is above the bottom side of the first camera with respect to a scene, and wherein in the upside-down orientation, the top side of the first camera is below the bottom side of the first camera with respect to the scene; initiating capture of the video on the first camera in response to receiving a synchronization signal, the video comprising a sequence of frames, each frame comprising an array of pixels; for each frame of the video, sequentially capturing by the camera sensor, pixels representing the scene in a first scan order responsive to the determined orientation being the upright orientation, wherein sequentially capturing the pixels representing the scene in the first order comprises sequentially capturing rows of pixels in an order from the top side of the first camera to the bottom side of the first camera and capturing each row of pixels by sequentially capturing pixels in an order from a left side of the first camera to a right side of the first camera; for each frame of the video, sequentially capturing by the camera sensor, the pixels representing the scene in a second scan order responsive to the determined orientation being the upside-down orientation, wherein sequentially capturing the pixels representing the scene in the second order comprises sequentially capturing rows of pixels in an order from the bottom side of the first camera to the top side of the first camera, and capturing each row of pixels by sequentially capturing pixels in an order from the right side of the first camera to the left side of the first camera; and storing the captured video of the first camera to a first memory of the first camera. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronization signal is received from a master control module, the master control module comprising an electronic device independent of the first camera. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: configuring the first camera as a master camera to provide the synchronization signal to a second camera configured as slave camera, the second camera to capture a second channel of the three-dimensional content. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, further comprising: configuring the first camera as the master camera responsive to the determined orientation being the upright orientation and configuring the first camera as the slave camera responsive to the determined orientation being the upside-down orientation. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the second camera is in the upside-down orientation when the first camera is in the upright orientation and wherein the second camera is in the upright orientation when the first camera is in the upside-down orientation. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the first and second cameras are each oriented along horizontal axes that are within a tolerance range of each other. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the first camera comprises: a camera body; a lens; a front face of the camera body, the lens positioned at an offset from a center plane of the front of the camera body; and a communication interface for communicatively coupling to the second camera. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: calculating a distance to an object from the first camera; and storing the distance as metadata together with the captured video. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein more than one additional camera is communicatively coupled to the first camera. ### Claim 10 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for capturing a video corresponding to a first channel of three-dimensional content, the instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to perform steps including: determining an orientation of a camera sensor of a first camera as one of an upright orientation or an upside-down orientation, wherein in the upright orientation, a top side of the first camera is above the bottom side of the first camera with respect to a scene, and wherein in the upside-down orientation, the top side of the first camera is below the bottom side of the first camera with respect to the scene; initiating capture of the video on the first camera in response to receiving a synchronization signal, the video comprising a sequence of frames, each frame comprising an array of pixels; for each frame of the video, sequentially capturing by the camera sensor, pixels representing the scene in a first scan order responsive to the determined orientation being the upright orientation, wherein sequentially capturing the pixels representing the scene in the first order comprises sequentially capturing rows of pixels in an order from the top side of the first camera to the bottom side of the first camera and capturing each row of pixels by sequentially capturing pixels in an order from a left side of the first camera to a right side of the first camera; for each frame of the video, sequentially capturing by the camera sensor, the pixels representing the scene in a second scan order responsive to the determined orientation being the upside-down orientation, wherein sequentially capturing the pixels representing the scene in the second order comprises sequentially capturing rows of pixels in an order from the bottom side of the first camera to the top side of the first camera, and capturing each row of pixels by sequentially capturing pixels in an order from the right side of the first camera to the left side of the first camera; and storing the captured video of the first camera to a first memory of the first camera. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the synchronization signal is received from a master control module, the master control module comprising an electronic device independent of the first camera. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the instructions when executed further causing the processor to perform a step of: configuring the first camera as a master camera to provide the synchronization signal to a second camera configured as slave camera, the second camera to capture a second channel of the three-dimensional content. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, the instructions when executed further causing the processor to perform a step of: configuring the first camera as the master camera responsive to the determined orientation being the upright orientation and configuring the first camera as the slave camera responsive to the determined orientation being the upside-down orientation. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the second camera is in the upside-down orientation when the first camera is in the upright orientation and wherein the second camera is in the upright orientation when the first camera is in the upside-down orientation. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first and second cameras are each oriented along horizontal axes that are within a tolerance range of each other. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the instructions when executed further causing the processor to perform a step of: calculating a distance to an object from the first camera; and storing the distance as metadata together with the captured video. ### Claim 17 A camera comprising: an orientation sensor to determine an orientation of the camera as one of an upright orientation or an upside-down orientation, wherein in the upright orientation, a top side of the camera is above the bottom side of the camera with respect to a scene, and wherein in the upside-down orientation, the top side of the camera is below the bottom side of the camera with respect to the scene; a synchronization interface to initiate capture of the video on the camera in response to receiving a synchronization signal, the video comprising a sequence of frames, each frame comprising an array of pixels; an image sensor to capture the video in response to the synchronization signal, wherein for each frame of the video, the image sensor sequentially captures pixels representing the scene in a first scan order responsive to the determined orientation being the upright orientation, and wherein for each frame of the video, the image sensor sequentially captures the pixels representing the scene in a second scan order responsive to the determined orientation being the upside-down orientation, wherein sequentially capturing the pixels representing the scene in the first order comprises sequentially capturing rows of pixels in an order from the top side of the first camera to the bottom side of the first camera and capturing each row of pixels by sequentially capturing pixels in an order from a left side of the first camera to a right side of the first camera, and wherein sequentially capturing the pixels representing the scene in the second order comprises sequentially capturing rows of pixels in an order from the bottom side of the first camera to the top side of the first camera, and capturing each row of pixels by sequentially capturing pixels in an order from the right side of the first camera to the left side of the first camera; and a memory to store captured video of the first camera. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The camera of claim 17, wherein the synchronization interface is configured to receive the synchronization signal from a master control module comprising an electronic device independent of the camera. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The camera of claim 17, wherein the camera is configured as a master camera, and wherein the synchronization interface furthermore provides the synchronization signal to a slave camera, the slave camera to capture a second channel of the three-dimensional content. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The camera of claim 17, further comprising: a camera body; a lens; a front face of the camera body, the lens positioned at an offset from a center plane of the front of the camera body; and a communication interface for communicatively coupling the camera to a remote device.