High-speed scanning of optical patterns using a digital camera
A digital camera in a mobile device, such as in a smart phone, can be used for super-fast scanning of optical codes. The camera uses a wide-angle lens, high frames per second, very short exposure time, and/or a torch. For example, an ultra-wide angle camera can be used to provide a wide field of view and a large depth of field while decoding multiple optical codes.
1. An apparatus for decoding optical patterns, the apparatus comprising:
a camera comprising:
an image sensor; and
a lens configured to focus light on the image sensor, wherein the lens is a wide-angle lens; and
one or more processors configured to:
acquire a plurality of images using the camera, wherein:
the lens is set at a fixed focus during acquisition of the plurality of images;
an exposure time for each of the plurality of images is equal to or less than one five-hundredth of a second;
the plurality of images are acquired at a frame rate of the camera; and
the frame rate is equal to or greater than thirty frames per second;
analyze the plurality of images to detect an optical pattern in the plurality of images;
decode the optical pattern to obtain a data payload; and
save the data payload in a memory device of the apparatus.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lens is a single-focus lens.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a torch, wherein the one or more processors are configured to activate the torch during the acquisition of the plurality of images.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the torch is configured to turn on while a user touches a screen on the apparatus with a finger and turn off based on the user removing the finger from the screen.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the torch has a constant value during the acquisition of the plurality of images.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of images are configured to be acquired while a user touches a screen of the apparatus with a finger.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the camera stops acquiring the plurality of images based on the user removing the finger from the screen.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the camera has an angle of view equal to or greater than 100 degrees.
9. A method for decoding optical patterns, the method comprising:
acquiring a plurality of images using a camera, wherein:
a lens of the camera is set at a fixed focus during acquisition of the plurality of images;
the lens of the camera is a wide-angle lens;
an exposure time for each of the plurality of images is equal to or less than one five-hundredth of a second;
the plurality of images are acquired at a frame rate of the camera; and
the frame rate is equal to or greater than thirty frames per second;
analyzing the plurality of images to detect an optical pattern in the plurality of images;
decoding the optical pattern to obtain a data payload; and
saving the data payload to a memory device.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of images are acquired while a user touches a screen of an apparatus with a finger, wherein the apparatus comprises the camera.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the camera stops acquiring the plurality of images based on the user removing the finger from the screen.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein a torch turns on while the user touches the screen on the apparatus with the finger and turns off based on the user removing the finger from the screen.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the lens is a variable-focus lens with autofocus disabled, during acquisition of the plurality of images.
14. The method of claim 9 , the exposure time is set to a specific value, and the camera adjusts an ISO of the camera during acquisition of the plurality of images.
15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising tracking a position of the optical pattern before decoding the optical pattern.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein:
the optical pattern is a first optical pattern;
the data payload is a first data payload; and
the method further comprises:
analyzing the plurality of images for a second optical pattern;
decoding the second optical pattern to obtain a second data payload; and
saving the second data payload to the memory device.
17. The method of claim 9 , wherein the exposure time is equal to or greater than 1/650 of a second and equal to or less than 1/1000 of a second.
18. The method of claim 9 , wherein the frame rate is equal to or greater than 120 fps.
19. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of images are acquired at a distance equal to or greater than 0.02 meters and equal to or less than 0.5 meters from the optical pattern.
20. A memory device comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform the following steps for decoding an optical codes:
acquiring a plurality of images using a camera, wherein:
a lens of the camera is set at a fixed focus during acquisition of the plurality of images;
the lens of the camera is a wide-angle lens;
an exposure time for each of the plurality of images is equal to or less than one five-hundredth of a second;
the plurality of images are acquired at a frame rate of the camera; and
the frame rate is equal to or greater than thirty frames per second;
analyzing the plurality of images to detect an optical pattern in the plurality of images;
decoding the optical pattern to obtain a data payload; and
saving the data payload.
21. The memory device of claim 20 wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to transmit the data payload to a remote hardware server.