Camera and image transmission method

Abstract

To provide a camera capable of simplifying image processing and transmission of an image and data in a non-standard format.SOLUTION: A camera includes an infrared thermosensor, a processor, and an interface module. The infrared thermosensor is configured to generate raw sensing data. The processor is configured to process the raw sensing data and generate a non-visible light image whose pixel data size is 1 byte and a plurality of temperature data whose unit data size is 2 byte. The interface module includes a plurality of transmission interfaces and is configured to transmit a different type image whose pixel data size is 3 byte via one of them, bit value of 3 byte being a linear combination between bit value of 1 byte and bit value of 2 byte. The processor combines the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data in accordance with red, green and blue color model channels and obtains a different type image with a visible light image format.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to a camera used in non-visible light and an image transmission method thereof.

Background Art

[0002] The types of images output from a camera can be divided into visible light images and non-visible light images (also called infrared thermal images) according to the type of the camera's sensor. The image format of visible light images has already been standardized, and engineers process and transmit visible light images according to the standard file. However, since the standard format for non-visible light images has not yet been determined, when the image output from the camera is a non-visible light image, engineers cannot develop related functions according to the standard.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] Therefore, how to simplify image processing and transmission for non-standard format images and data is the technical problem to be solved by the present invention.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a camera including an infrared thermal sensor, a processor, and an interface module. The processor is coupled to the infrared thermal sensor and the interface module. The infrared thermal sensor is configured to generate raw sensing data. The processor is configured to process the raw sensing data and generate a non-visible light image with a pixel data size of 1 byte and a plurality of temperature data with a unit data size of 2 bytes. The interface module includes a plurality of transmission interfaces and is configured to transmit a heterogeneous image with a pixel data size of 3 bytes via one of the plurality of transmission interfaces. The 3-byte bit value is a linear combination of the 1-byte bit value and the 2-byte bit value. The processor is configured to combine the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data according to the red, green, and blue color model channels to obtain a heterogeneous image having a visible light image format.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide an image transmission method for use in a camera including an infrared thermal sensor, a processor, and an interface module, wherein the processor is coupled to the infrared thermal sensor and the interface module. The image transmission method includes: generating, by the infrared thermal sensor, raw sensing data; processing, by the processor, the raw sensing data to generate a non-visible light image with a pixel data size of 1 byte and a plurality of temperature data with a unit data size of 2 bytes; combining, by the processor, the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data according to the red, green, and blue color model channels to obtain a heterogeneous image with a pixel data size of 3 bytes and having a visible light image format, wherein the 3-byte bit value is a linear combination of the 1-byte bit value and the 2-byte bit value; and transmitting, via one of the plurality of transmission interfaces of the interface module, the heterogeneous image. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments so that those skilled in the art in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can better understand the present invention and appropriately implement it. However, the disclosed embodiments do not limit the present invention.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data format of an image captured by a visible light camera, a transmission interface applied to each data format, and a communication protocol corresponding to the transmission interface. The visible light camera 100 is capable of detecting visible light and generating an image 105. The image 105 is a visible light image, and the image format 115 is a standardized image including, but not limited to, YUV (Luma, Chrominance, and Chroma) format, RGB image channel format, raw data format, and the like.

[0009] The visible light camera 100 includes a plurality of transmission interfaces 120 that transmit the image 105 via a corresponding communication protocol 125. For example, the transmission interface 120 includes, but is not limited to, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI), Ethernet, and an interface applied to a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor.

[0010] The image 105 is a visible light image having a standardized image format, and the visible light camera 100 can transmit the standardized image 105 to a receiving side (not shown) via an industrial standard transmission interface 120 and a communication protocol 125. In FIG. 1, the connection line between the image format 115 and the transmission interface 120 represents the compatibility between various image formats 115 and various transmission interfaces 120. For example, the visible light camera 100 can transmit an image 105 whose image format 115 is the YUV format via a USB, MIPI, Ehternet, or CMOS transmission interface 120. However, although the image format 115 and the transmission interface 120 of the visible light camera 100 are standardized, the data format of non-visible light images has not been standardized. For users, it is not possible to transmit data other than visible light images using the standardized image format 115 and the transmission interface 120. When the visible light camera 100 is replaced by an infrared sensor, the camera 100 must provide a dedicated driver for the receiving side or a software development kit to process the image generated by the infrared sensor.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of sensing data generated by an infrared camera, a transmission interface applicable to the data format thereof, and a communication protocol. The infrared camera 200 can detect infrared light and generate sensing data. The infrared camera 200 is, for example, an infrared thermal camera. The sensing data includes an image 205 and temperature data 210. Since the sensing data of the infrared thermal camera is not in a standardized data format, even if the image format 215 of the image 205 can be processed into the YUV format, the RGB image channel format, or the raw data format, the data format 220 of the temperature data 210 is not standardized (Proprietary) and can be independently developed and designed by the camera development manufacturer. Therefore, there is a problem of lack of consistency among different development manufacturers with different data formats 220.

[0012] Furthermore, similar to the above description, in FIG. 2, the connection line between the image format 215 and the transmission interface 225 represents the compatibility between various image formats 215 and various transmission interfaces 225, and the connection line between the data format 220 and the transmission interface 230 represents the compatibility between the data format 220 and various transmission interfaces 230.

[0013] Generally, the infrared camera 200 can transmit the image 205 and the temperature data 210 via the transmission interface 225 and the transmission interface 230 respectively. In other words, in the infrared camera 200, since it is necessary to install two or more transmission interfaces 225 and transmission interfaces 230 to transmit the image 205 and the temperature data 210 respectively, it is also necessary to install two or more corresponding receiving interfaces on the receiving side to receive the data. As described above, since the data format 220 of the temperature data 210 is developed and designed independently by the camera development manufacturer, the applicable communication protocol 240 of the transmission interface 230 also needs to be developed and designed independently by the camera development manufacturer, resulting in the problem that the user's development becomes complicated.

[0014] In this specification, the terms "non-visible light image" and "infrared image" can be used interchangeably, and these terms mean an image having temperature information. The temperature data 210 means data that describes temperature information with numbers and characters. For example, the color represented by the non-visible light image indicates the temperature, and by storing in advance a look-up table of the color values (pixel values) corresponding to the temperature and the colors represented thereby, the temperature distribution can be intuitively expressed by the color distribution represented by the non-visible light image.

[0015] In this specification, 1 byte is equal to 8 bits and is expressed alternately in this specification, but should not be regarded as a semantic ambiguity.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera 300 includes an infrared thermal sensor 310, a processor 320, and an interface module 330. The processor 320 is coupled to the infrared thermal sensor 310 and the interface module 330.

[0017] The infrared thermal sensor 310 is configured to detect infrared radiation energy in the environment and convert it into an electrical signal, generating raw sensing data representing the temperature in the environment. The raw sensing data is represented in the form of an image, and different colors in the image represent different temperature distributions. The raw sensing data is, for example, 14-bit digital data.

[0018] The processor 320 is configured to process the raw sensing data to generate a non-visible light image and a plurality of temperature data. In one embodiment, the pixel data size of the visible light image is 1 byte (8 bits), and the unit data size of the temperature data is 2 bytes (16 bits).

[0019] In one embodiment, the pixel data size refers to the size of 1 pixel data. For example, in the case of a pixel data size of 3 bytes (24 bits), it means that 1 pixel is 3 bytes.

[0020] In one embodiment, the unit data size of the temperature data refers to the data size of 1 temperature data. For example, in the case of a unit data size of 16 bits, it means that 1 temperature data is 16 bits.

[0021] The processor 320 is, for example, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a System on Chip (SoC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Network Processor chip, or a combination of the above elements, but is not limited thereto.

[0022] The interface module 330 includes a plurality of transmission interfaces. The interface module 330 is configured to transmit the heterogeneous data composed of the above-mentioned image and temperature data in the present invention via one of the plurality of transmission interfaces. In one embodiment, each transmission interface of the interface module 330 supports the transmission of images in YUV format and RGB image channel format.

[0023] The transmission interfaces of the interface module 330 are, for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI), Ethernet, and an interface applicable to a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, or a combination of the above interfaces, but is not limited thereto.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an image transmission method used in a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image transmission method may be executed by the camera 300 in FIG. 3.

[0025] In step S410, the infrared thermal sensor 310 generates raw sensing data.

[0026] In step S420, the processor 320 processes the raw sensing data to generate a non-visible light image and a plurality of temperature data.

[0027] In step S430, the processor 320 combines the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data according to the red, green, and blue color model channels (RGB color model channel) to obtain a heterogeneous image having a visible light image format.

[0028] In step S440, the heterogeneous image is transmitted via one of the plurality of transmission interfaces of the interface module 330.

[0029] Hereinafter, steps S410 to S440 will be further described.

[0030] In step S410, each pixel of the detection element of the infrared thermal sensor 310 detects infrared radiation energy and converts it into temperature data accordingly. Each of all the pixels has corresponding temperature data with a corresponding color preset for each value. The temperature distribution of the raw sensing data generated by the infrared thermal sensor 310 is recorded in the corresponding color and represented in an image format. The raw sensing data is the raw data generated by the infrared thermal sensor 310.

[0031] Regarding step S420, it will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the analysis of raw sensing data according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processor 320 analyzes and extracts temperature data 520 from the detected voltage of the raw sensing data 510, and converts the raw sensing data by an algorithm to generate a non-visible light image 530. In one embodiment, the raw sensing data 510 is an image with a pixel data size of 14 bits, the temperature data 520 is data with a unit data size of 2 bytes, and the non-visible light image 530 is an image with a pixel data size of 1 byte.

[0032] In order to reduce the number of transmission interfaces of the interface module 330 used for data transmission, in step S430, the processor 320 combines the non-visible light image with the temperature data according to the red, green, and blue color model channels generally used for transmitting the visible light image.

[0033] In one embodiment, the red, green, and blue color model channels are the red channel, the green channel, and the blue channel, respectively. The red channel, the green channel, and the blue channel may have the same or different channel sizes from each other, and their sum is the data size of one pixel of the image. For example, when the red channel, the green channel, and the blue channel of one image are each 1 byte (that is, the sum of the channel sizes is 3 bytes), one pixel of this color image is 3 bytes. When the red channel, the green channel, and the blue channel of one image are each 2 bytes (that is, the sum of the channel sizes is 6 bytes), the data size of one pixel of this color image is 6 bytes. When the red channel, the green channel, and the blue channel of one image are 5 bits, 6 bits, and 5 bits, respectively (that is, the sum of the channel sizes is 16 bits), the data size of one pixel of this color image is 16 bits. Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity of description, the case where the data size of one pixel of the color image is 3 bytes (that is, the channel sizes of the red channel, the green channel, and the blue channel are all 8 bits) will be described as an example.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the combination of a non-visible light image and temperature data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] In one embodiment, the non-visible light image includes a plurality of pixels corresponding to temperature data respectively. In one embodiment, the non-visible light image has the same number of pixels as the number of data of the temperature data, and the plurality of pixels correspond one-to-one to the plurality of temperature data.

[0036] In one embodiment, each pixel of the non-visible light image has an image data size of 1 byte.

[0037] In one embodiment, the 2 bytes of the temperature data may be divided into a plurality of parts. For example, the 2 bytes of the temperature data have a first part and a second part, and the data lengths of the first part and the second part are 0 or more.

[0038] In one embodiment, the sum of the first part and the second part is the same as the unit data size of the temperature data. For example, the sum of the first part and the second part is 2 bytes (16 bits), where the first part and the second part are each 1 byte, or the first part is 6 bits and the second part is 10 bits.

[0039] When combining the non-visible light image with the temperature data, the bit values of the first part and the second part may be in the form of a linear combination as part of a different kind of image. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the 8 bits of the least significant bit 616a are the first part of the temperature data, and the 8 bits of the most significant bit 616b are the second part of the temperature data. In this embodiment, the bit values of the first part and the second part are a linear combination from the least significant bit to the most significant bit.

[0040] In one embodiment, when the resolution of the non-visible light image is 80×60 (pixel), there are 4800 pixels in the non-visible light image, and there are also 4800 temperature data. Here, the image data of each pixel is 8 bits (1 byte), and the unit data size of the temperature data is 16 bits (2 bytes).

[0041] Take the k-th pixel among a plurality of pixels of the non-visible light image as an example. In one embodiment, the processor 320 combines the k-th pixel of the non-visible light image and the temperature data corresponding to the k-th pixel according to the red, green, and blue color model channels, respectively, and stores the combined data in the k-th pixel of the heterogeneous image.

[0042] In one embodiment, the above combined data, that is, the data stored in the k-th pixel of the heterogeneous image, has a pixel data size of 3 bytes. In this embodiment, each pixel data of the heterogeneous image is a linear combination of the bit values of the image data of 1 pixel of the non-visible light image and the bit value of 1 temperature data. For example, the bit value of 1 temperature data is 11011011 00100100, where the bit value of the first part of the temperature data is 11011011, and the bit value of the second part is 00100100. At the same time, the bit value of 1 pixel of the non-visible light image is 00001111. Combine the above data so that the combined data becomes the 1 pixel data of the heterogeneous image, and obtain the bit value of 1 pixel of the heterogeneous image as 00001111 11011011 00100100. This combination method is "the bit value of 1 pixel of the non-visible light image, the bit value of the first part of the temperature data, the bit value of the second part of the temperature data", and the bit values of each 1 byte are combined in the order from the least significant byte to the most significant byte.

[0043] In the above example, since each pixel data of the heterogeneous image is a linear combination of the value of the image data of 1 pixel of the non-visible light image and the bit value of 1 temperature data, the value of the image data of the pixel of the heterogeneous image can also be 00001111 00100100 11011011. This combination method is "the bit value of 1 pixel of the non-visible light image, the bit value of the second part of the temperature data, the bit value of the first part of the temperature data", and the bit values of each byte are combined in the order from the least significant byte to the most significant byte.

[0044] In other embodiments, the values of the image data of the pixels of the heterogeneous images may be 00100100 00001111 11011011, and this combination method is "the bit value of the second part of the temperature data, the bit value of one pixel of the non-visible light image, the bit value of the first part of the temperature data", and the bit values of each byte are combined in the order from the least significant byte to the most significant byte.

[0045] Note that the above combination method is only an aspect for explaining the embodiment, and any combination aspect that can be conceived from the above description is applicable to the present invention.

[0046] In one embodiment, the RGB color model channels include a red color channel, a green color channel, and a blue color channel, each having a color channel bit size. The size of the RGB color model channels is the sum of the color channel bit sizes. For example, since the color channel bit sizes of the red color channel, the green color channel, and the blue color channel are each 8 bits, the size of the RGB color model channels is 24 bits.

[0047] In one embodiment, the processor 320 arranges one pixel of the non-visible light image at one channel position of the RGB color model channels, arranges one temperature data corresponding to one pixel of the non-visible light image at the remaining two channel positions of the RGB color model channels, and combines them to obtain one pixel of the heterogeneous image.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6, in one embodiment, the first pixel 612 of the non-visible light image is arranged in the red color channel, and 1 byte of data (e.g., 8 bits) starting from the least significant byte (LSB) 616a of the first data 614 of the plurality of temperature data is arranged in the green color channel, and 1 byte of data (e.g., 8 bits) starting from the most significant byte (MSB) 616b is arranged in the blue color channel. In this arrangement, the first pixel 612 of the non-visible light image and the first data 614 of the plurality of temperature data are combined as the data of the first pixel 618 of the heterogeneous image, that is, the combined data is stored at the position of the first pixel 618 of the heterogeneous image. Similarly, the k-th pixel 632 of the non-visible light image is arranged in the red color channel, and 1 byte of data (e.g., 8 bits) starting from the least significant byte 636a of the k-th data 634 of the plurality of temperature data is arranged in the green color channel, and 1 byte of data (e.g., 8 bits) starting from the most significant byte (MSB) 636b is arranged in the blue color channel. In this arrangement, the k-th pixel 632 of the non-visible light and the k-th data 634 of the plurality of temperature data are combined as the data of the k-th pixel 638 of the heterogeneous image, that is, the combined data is stored at the position of the k-th pixel 638 of the heterogeneous image. Here, k is a positive integer from the value 1 to the resolution of the heterogeneous image. For example, when the resolution of the heterogeneous image is 80×60 (pixel), the k value is a positive integer within the range of 1≦k≦4800.

[0049] In one embodiment, the processor 320 executes the combining procedure of the non-visible light image and the temperature data in FIG. 6, combines each pixel of the non-visible light image and the corresponding temperature data one by one, and obtains a complete heterogeneous image. In this embodiment, the pixel data size of each pixel of the heterogeneous image is 3 bytes.

[0050] In one embodiment, the image data size (1 byte) of one pixel of the non-visible light image is the same as the color channel bit size, and the temperature data size (2 bytes) of one pixel is twice the color channel bit size. For example, the color channel bit size is 8 bits, the image data size of one pixel of the non-visible light image is 8 bits, and the temperature data size of one pixel is 16 bits.

[0051] In other embodiments, the processor 320 combines the non-visible light image, the plurality of temperature data, and the biometric sensing data according to the red, green, and blue color model channels to generate a heterogeneous image. The detailed steps of the combining procedure are the same as those described in FIG. 6 above, except that the processor 320 adds the biometric sensing data to a part of the red, green, and blue color model channels to obtain a heterogeneous image. In other words, in the present invention, the number of data added to the combining procedure is not limited, and as long as the total size of all the data added in the combining procedure for generating a heterogeneous image is equal to or less than the total channel size of the red, green, and blue color model channels, the design intention of the present invention is satisfied.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a heterogeneous image having a visible light image format obtained by combining a non-visible light image and temperature data according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processor 320 of the camera 300 performs the combining procedure described in FIG. 6 above on each pixel of the non-visible light image 710 and the temperature data 720 at the corresponding pixel position to obtain pixel data having a visible light image format at the corresponding pixel position. The processor 320 combines all the pixels of the non-visible light image 710 and the temperature data 720 at the corresponding pixel positions to obtain a complete heterogeneous image 730.

[0053] In one embodiment, the visible light image format includes the YUV format and the RGB format, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0054] The camera 300 continuously acquires raw sensing data that can each be processed by the processor 320 to generate corresponding non-visible light images 710 and corresponding multiple temperature data 720 (for example, at a frequency of 30 fps (frames per second)), and correspondingly generates a large number of heterogeneous images 730.

[0055] Note that the manner in which the processor 320 combines the pixels of the non-visible light image and the temperature data is not limited to the arrangement shown in FIG. 6.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 6 again. In other embodiments, the processor 320 combines a plurality of pixels of the non-visible light image and a plurality of temperature data in a pre-defined arrangement. For example, the pre-defined arrangement arranges the first pixel 612 of the non-visible light image and the first data 614 of the temperature data alternately in each byte of the red color channel, green color channel, and blue color channel in units of 1 byte (not shown in FIG. 6), and arranges and stores the data of multiple bytes in each pixel of the heterogeneous image in the pixel as described above (in this case of the arrangement, all bytes of each pixel of the non-visible light image and all bytes of each temperature data will be arranged alternately, and as a result, each temperature data is encoded in a non-continuous arrangement in the heterogeneous image), and placing the least significant byte (LSB) 616a of the first data 614 of the temperature data in the red color channel, the most significant byte (MSB) 616b in the green color channel, and the first pixel 612 of the non-visible light image in the blue color channel (not shown in FIG. 6), and the like. Similarly, the present invention is not limited to the above-described methods of arrangement and combination.

[0057] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an image, temperature data, and an applied transmission interface generated by a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera 800 generates a heterogeneous image 805 by combining an invisible light image and temperature data by executing each step of the image transmission method described in FIG. 4 above. The image format 815 of the heterogeneous image 805 may be, for example, the YUV format or the RGB format, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0058] The non-visible light image and temperature data in a non-standardized form are disguised as a heterogeneous image 805 in a visible light image having a standardized form by the above-described processing procedure. Therefore, the camera 800 can transmit the heterogeneous image 805 having a standardized form to a receiving side (not shown) via an industrial standard transmission interface 820 and a communication protocol 825.

[0059] Note that since the processor 320 executes the combining procedure according to the red, green, and blue color model channels, the screen by the obtained heterogeneous image 805 is not readable by humans. In one embodiment, the camera 300 holds two different types of data (i.e., non-visible light image and temperature) by using a standardized image format, and combines the non-visible light image with the temperature data and disguises it as a visible light image by the above-described combining method, thereby simplifying the development procedure for different types of data.

[0060] On the one hand, the receiving side stores the array rules of the combination procedure in advance. Specifically, when receiving heterogeneous images, the receiving side decodes the data of each byte of each pixel of the heterogeneous image 805 according to the array rules, and reorganizes it into the data before the combination procedure, thereby reconstructing the non-visible light image and the temperature data, and completing the transmission and restoration of one image frame. For example, when the array rule (for example, the above combination mode) is "the bit value of the second part of the temperature data, the bit value of one pixel of the non-visible light image, the bit value of the first part of the temperature data", the receiving side reads each byte of the received pixel according to this array rule, and reorganizes it into one pixel of the non-visible light image and one temperature data before the combination procedure. On the receiving side, by repeating the above data reconstruction procedure, a complete non-visible light image and corresponding temperature data can be obtained.

[0061] In this way, the camera and image transmission method of the present invention do not need to use two or more transmission interfaces to transmit the non-visible light image of the camera and the corresponding data respectively, and can transmit two or more different types of data and images with only one transmission interface. The camera and image transmission method of the present invention are applicable to data in various data formats and images in image formats. Therefore, users do not need to develop and design firmware and software development kits (SDKs) independently, and it is possible to transmit non-standardized images and temperature data to the receiving side in a standardized image format, so that development can be greatly simplified and operation costs can be reduced. Furthermore, since the camera and image transmission method of the present invention do not need to greatly compress the image, the information of the image is retained and the problem of distortion is avoided.

[0062] The above is only a preferred specific example of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention. Therefore, equivalent changes made by applying the content of the present invention are considered to be included in the scope of the present invention for the same reason.

Explanation of Signs

[0063] 100: Visible Light Camera 105: Image 115: Image Format 120: Transmission Interface 125: Communication Protocol 200: Infrared Camera 205: Image 210: Temperature Data 215: Image Format 220: Data Format 225, 230: Transmission Interface 235, 240: Communication Protocol 300: Camera 310: Infrared Thermosensor 320: Processor 330: Interface Module 510: Raw Sensing Data 520: Temperature Data 530: Non-Visible Light Image 612, 632: Pixels of Non-Visible Light Image 614, 634: Temperature Data 616a, 636a: Least Significant Bit 616b, 636b: Most Significant Bit 618, 638: Pixels of Heterogeneous Image 710: Non-Visible Light Image 720: Temperature Data 730: Heterogeneous Image 800: Camera 805: Heterogeneous Image 815: Image Format 820: Transmission Interface 825: Communication Protocol S410~S440: Steps

Claims

1. An infrared thermal sensor configured to generate raw sensing data, a processor coupled to the infrared thermal sensor, configured to process the raw sensing data and generate a non-visible light image with a pixel data size of 1 byte and a plurality of temperature data with a unit data size of 2 bytes, an interface module coupled to the processor, including a plurality of transmission interfaces, and configured to transmit a heterogeneous image with a pixel data size of 3 bytes through one of the plurality of transmission interfaces, wherein the 3-byte bit value is a linear combination of the 1-byte bit value and the 2-byte bit value, wherein the processor is configured to combine the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data according to red, green, and blue color model channels to obtain the heterogeneous image in a visible light image format, a camera.

2. The non-visible light image includes a plurality of pixels corresponding to the plurality of temperature data respectively, the processor is configured to combine the k-th pixel of the non-visible light image and the temperature data corresponding to the k-th pixel to the k-th pixel of the heterogeneous image such that the pixel data size of each pixel of the heterogeneous image becomes the 3 bytes, where k is a positive integer less than or equal to the resolution of the heterogeneous image, the camera according to claim 1.

3. The processor is configured to place one pixel of the non-visible light image at a channel position of one of the red, green, and blue color model channels, place the temperature data corresponding to the one pixel of the non-visible light image at the remaining two channel positions of the red, green, and blue color model channels, and combine them to obtain one pixel of the heterogeneous image, the camera according to claim 1.

4. The red, green, and blue color model channels include a red color channel, a green color channel, and a blue color channel each having a color channel bit size, the pixel data size of the non-visible light image is equal to the color channel bit size, and the unit data size of the temperature data is twice the color channel bit size, the camera according to claim 1.

5. The 2 bytes of the temperature data have a first part and a second part, The camera according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to calculate a linear combination of the bit values of the first part and the second part of each of the temperature data as a part of the three bytes of the heterogeneous image.

6. An image transmission method for a camera including an infrared thermal sensor, a processor, and an interface module, wherein the processor is coupled to the infrared thermal sensor and the interface module, the method comprising: generating raw sensing data by the infrared thermal sensor; processing the raw sensing data by the processor to generate a non-visible light image with a pixel data size of 1 byte and a plurality of temperature data with a unit data size of 2 bytes; combining, by the processor, the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data according to red, green, and blue color model channels to obtain a heterogeneous image having a pixel data size of 3 bytes and a visible light image format, wherein the bit value of the three bytes is a linear combination of the bit value of the 1 byte and the bit value of the 2 bytes; transmitting the heterogeneous image via one of a plurality of transmission interfaces of the interface module.

7. The non-visible light image includes a plurality of pixels corresponding to each of the plurality of temperature data, The step of combining the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data to obtain the heterogeneous image includes: combining the k-th pixel of the non-visible light image and the temperature data corresponding to the k-th pixel with the k-th pixel of the heterogeneous image such that the pixel data size of each pixel of the heterogeneous image becomes the three bytes, where k is a positive integer less than or equal to the resolution of the heterogeneous image. The image transmission method according to claim 6.

8. The step of combining the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data to obtain the heterogeneous image includes: placing one pixel of the non-visible light image at a channel position of one of the red, green, and blue color model channels, placing the temperature data corresponding to the one pixel of the non-visible light image at the remaining two channel positions of the red, green, and blue color model channels, and combining them to obtain one pixel of the heterogeneous image. The image transmission method according to claim 6.

9. The red, green, and blue color model channels each include a red color channel, a green color channel, and a blue color channel, each having a color channel bit size. The pixel data size of the non-visible light image is equal to the color channel bit size, and the unit data size of each temperature data is twice the color channel bit size. The image transmission method according to claim 6.

10. The two bytes of the temperature data have a first part and a second part. The step of combining the non-visible light image with the plurality of temperature data to obtain the heterogeneous image includes: The image transmission method according to claim 6, further comprising calculating a linear combination of the bit values of the first part and the second part of each temperature data as a part of the three bytes of the heterogeneous image.

Images