THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF N00014-14-1-0741 Towards Flexible Sheet Cameras
Abstract
Statement of Work:Investigate the concept and feasibiliy of imaging with thin large, flexible sheets of cameras rather than conventionalsingle perspective cameras. Also investigate appropriate technologies for such flexible sheet cameras.Objective:Investigate the concept and feasibiliy of imaging with thin large, flexible sheets of cameras rather than conventionalsingle perspective cameras.Approach:The PIs (Shree Nayar and Oliver Cosairt) will investigate the concept and feasibility of flexible sheet cameras. This is a radically different approach to imaging as compared to traditional sensors. They will develop novel approaches for both capturing and interpreting images. For image capture, they will design novel deformable optics using malleable material that will change itsshape based on the bending forces applied to it. Such deformable optics, along with deformable sensors (e.g., organic sensors printed on plastic sheets), will allow the camera to be physically flexible. Deformable optics will also mitigate the image aliasing problem that would result from the light-rays captured by the sheet camera getting distributed over a larger field of view, as the sheet is bent. For interpretation and display of the unconventional images captured by the sheet cameras, they will develop novel approaches for measuring the shape of the sensor sheet. They will investigate how to accomplish this in real-time, using a sparse set of gyroscopes embedded in the sheet and leveraging the constraints imposed on the shape by the physical structure of the sheet.Overall Merit and ONR Mission/Relevance:This research is expected to develop the basics of a novel imaging method that would result in improved vision for autonomous agents and improved surveillance imaging. Such cameras can be used to image the world in ways that would be difficult to achieve using one or more conventional cameras. This research addresses Information Dominance as well as Autonomy focus areas. This work is expected to result in novel imaging methods that would enable better surveillance as well as better vision for autonomous agents.Progress Statement:The goal of this project is to enable the camera to function as an untethered, stand-alone device that can produce visual information. To make this goal a reality, the camera must be able to generate all the power it needs to function. Since cameras measure light, and light can be used to generate energy, we seek to develop image sensors that cannot only capture images but also generate the power needed to do so. As a first step in this direction, we have developed a fully self-powered camera that produces video indefinitely for a well-lit indoor scene. We refer to a camera operating in this mode as an "eternal camera." We believe such a device can play a vital role in emerging fields such as wearable imaging, sensor networks, smart environments, and the Internet of Things. At the core of our image sensor design is a simple pixel circuit, where the pixel s photodiode can be used to not only measure the incident light level, but also to convert the incident light into electrical energy. A sensor architecture is developed where, during each image capture cycle, the pixels are used first to record and read out the image and thenused to harvest energy and charge the sensor s power supply. We have conducted several experiments using off-the-shelf discrete components to validate the practical feasibility of our approach. We first developed a single pixel based on our design and used it to physically scan images of scenes. Next, we developed a fully self-powered camera that produces 30x40 images. The camera uses a supercap rather than an external source as its power supply. For a scene that is around 300 lux in brightness, the voltage across the supercap remains well above the minimum needed for the camera to indefinitely produce an image per second. For scenarios where scene brightness may vary dramatically, wehave developed an adapt
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 26, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141612152
Entities
People
- Shree Nayar
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
- United States Navy