Granted Patent B2

US 10,531,069 · App. 15/977,878 · Granted Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

Claims (43)

1. A camera for capturing images of an object, the camera comprising:

a single pixelated array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels;

a plurality of lenses that focus light reflected from an object onto a plurality of different pixel regions of the array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels, each lens focusing light on a different one of the pixel regions; and

a controller, including a processor and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor implement an object detection module, coupled to the single pixelated array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels that:

analyzes at least two of the plurality of different pixel regions to generate a three-dimensional (3D) image of the object through a plurality of images obtained with the array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels in conjunction with the plurality of lenses; and

generates a depth map of depth values for at least some of the pixels in the image of the object.

2. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

use the single array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels to acquire additional images of the object as the object moves through space;

analyze the additional images to generate additional three-dimensional images of the object; and

track 3D motion of the object based upon the additional three-dimensional (3D) images generated.

3. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the depth map is generated based on the images received in the different pixel regions.

4. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels is sensitive to non-visible light.

5. The camera of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lenses is convex.

6. A method of capturing images of an object using a camera comprising an image sensor having an array of light-sensing pixels and a plurality of lenses, each lens focusing light on one of a plurality of pixel regions of the image sensor, the method comprising:

focusing light reflected from the object onto a plurality of different pixel regions of a single pixelated array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels;

capturing with the single pixelated array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels of the camera a three-dimensional (3D) image of the object using at least two of the plurality of different pixel regions; and

generating a depth map of depth values for at least some of the pixels in the image of the object.

7. The method of claim 6 , further including:

using the single array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels, acquiring additional images of the object as the object moves through space;

analyzing the additional images to generate additional three-dimensional images of the object; and

tracking 3D motion of the object based upon the additional three-dimensional (3D) images.

8. The method of claim 6 , further including modeling the object in three dimensions using voxels.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the camera captures images using non-visible light.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein reflected light is focused using at least one convex lens.

11. An image capture and analysis system comprising:

a camera oriented toward a field of view, the camera comprising:

a single pixelated array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels;

a plurality of lenses that focus light reflected from an object onto a plurality of different pixel regions of the single pixelated array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels, each lens focusing light on a different one of the pixel regions; and

a processor for analyzing the pixel regions to generate a three-dimensional (3D) image of the object based on the images received in the different pixel regions and generating a depth map of depth values for pixels of at least some of the pixels in the image of the object.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor further performs:

using the single array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels, acquiring additional images of the object as the object moves through space;

analyzing the additional images to generate additional three-dimensional images of the object; and

tracking 3D motion of the object based upon the additional three-dimensional (3D) images.

13. The system of claim 11 , further including modeling the object in three dimensions using voxels.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the camera captures images using non-visible light.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein reflected light is focused using at least one convex lens.

16. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

illuminating the field of view with at least one light source disposed on a same side of a field of view as the camera; and

operating the camera to capture a plurality of images, each image associated with one of the pixel regions of the image sensor, at a time when the light source is simultaneously operative to illuminate the field of view.

17. The method of claim 6 , wherein the single array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels is divided into multiple regions, each containing a fraction of the image sensor associated with one of the lenses.

18. The method of claim 6 , further including: transforming a field of view of the single array of uniformly and continuously spaced light-sensing pixels represented by a 3D coordinate system and the object pixels recorded by the array into voxels in 3D space based on the depth values.

19. The method of claim 6 , further including: tagging pixels corresponding to the object with a depth value.

20. The method of claim 6 , further including: implementing multiple lenses in a mobile device to track the 3D motion of an object using as few as one camera.

Assignments (13)