Systems and methods for window contamination detection
A system includes an imaging system having a housing with a window, an imaging device within the housing having a field-of-view containing at least a portion of the window, a dark-field illuminator source within the housing directed at that portion of the window within the field-of-view, a control processor in communication with the imaging device and configured to execute instructions that cause the imaging device to acquire a first series of images with the dark-field illuminator source not activated, the control processor configured to control activation of the dark-field illuminator source, the imaging device configured to capture additional images during acquisition of the first series of images, the additional images captured during periods when the dark-field illuminator source is activated. In some implementations, dark-field illuminator can be synched with frame acquisition rate of the first series of images. A method and a non-transitory computer readable medium are also disclosed.
1. A system comprising:
an imaging system including a housing having a window;
an imaging device within the housing having a field of view that contains at least a portion of the window;
a dark-field illuminator source located in a dark-field region within the housing, the dark-field illuminator source directed at that portion of the window within the field of view;
a control processor in communication with the imaging device and configured to execute instructions that cause the imaging device to acquire a first series of images with the dark-field illuminator source not activated;
the control processor configured to control activation of the dark-field illuminator source;
the imaging device configured to capture additional images during acquisition of the first series of images, the additional images captured during periods when the dark-field illuminator source is activated; the system further including:
an image diagnostic unit configured to compare at least one image of the first series of images with at least one of the additional images;
the image diagnostic unit configured to determine a quality factor quantifying a degradation in image quality based on the comparison.
2. The system of claim 1 , including the image diagnostic unit configured to evaluate if the quality factor exceeds a first predetermined threshold.
3. The system of claim 2 , including a communication unit configured to transmit an alert message to the remote server if the quality factor exceeds the first predetermined threshold.
4. The system of claim 2 including an amelioration system, the control processor configured to:
cause the image diagnostic unit to evaluate if the quality factor exceeds a second predetermined threshold, the second predetermined threshold lower than the first predetermined threshold; and
activate the amelioration system if the quality factor is between the first and the second predetermined thresholds.
5. The system of claim 3 including an amelioration system, the control processor configured to activate the amelioration system in response to a message received from the remote server.
6. The system of claim 1 , including the control processor configured to control activation of the dark-field illuminator source in synchronization with a frame acquisition rate of the first series of images.
7. A method comprising:
acquiring a first series of images using an imaging system that includes an image capture device and a dark-field illuminator source, the first series of images acquired with the dark-field illuminator source inactive;
obtaining one or more additional images during acquisition of the first series of images, the one or more additional image captured when the dark-field illuminator source is activated;
comparing by an image diagnostic unit at least one image of the first series of images with at least one of the one or more additional images; and
determining a quality factor quantifying a degradation in image quality based on the results of the comparison.
8. The method of claim 7 , including:
evaluating if the quality factor exceeds a first predetermined threshold; and
transmitting an alert message to a remote server connected to the imaging system if the quality factor does exceed the first threshold.
9. The method of claim 8 , including:
receiving an instruction from the remote server; and
activating an amelioration system in response to the received instruction.
10. The method of claim 7 , including:
evaluating if the quality factor exceeds a second predetermined threshold, the second predetermined threshold lower than the first predetermined threshold; and
activating an amelioration system if the quality factor is between the first and the second predetermined thresholds.
11. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
acquire a first series of images using an imaging system that includes an image capture device and a dark-field illuminator source, the first series of images acquired with the dark-field illuminator source inactive;
obtain one or more additional images during acquisition of the first series of images, the one or more additional image captured when the dark-field illuminator source is activated;
compare by an image diagnostic unit at least one image of the first series of images with at least one of the one or more additional images; and
determine a quality factor quantifying a degradation in image quality based on the results of the comparison.
12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further including executable instructions to cause the processor to:
evaluate if the quality factor exceeds a first predetermined threshold; and
transmit an alert message to a remote server connected to the imaging system if the quality factor does exceed the first threshold.
13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , further including executable instructions to cause the processor to:
receive an instruction from the remote server; and
activate an amelioration system in response to the received instruction.
14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further including executable instructions to cause the processor to:
evaluate if the quality factor exceeds a second predetermined threshold, the second predetermined threshold lower than the first predetermined threshold; and
activate an amelioration system if the quality factor is between the first and the second predetermined thresholds.