Extensible Imaging Architecture Modular Front End Back End Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional imaging systems are costly and lack scalability due to their design, which requires specific front and back ends to interface with each other, limiting flexibility and increasing development time.
Innovation Solution
An extensible architecture for imaging systems is introduced, featuring a front end module with thermal and visible imaging sensors and image processing components, and a back end module as a system-on-module (SOM) that provides a common interface for various front ends, enabling quick development and upgrade of handheld or mountable imaging systems for surveillance and targeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional devices are designed with specific front ends and back ends that interface with each other, then the system achieves functional completeness, but the production cost increases and scalability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal back end interface that can work with multiple different front end types (thermal imaging, visible imaging, other sensors). This allows a single back end design to serve multiple imaging systems, reducing production costs through standardized manufacturing while simultaneously improving scalability by enabling easy integration of different sensor types without redesigning the entire system.
2Productivity
If conventional devices use custom-designed front end and back end interfaces, then the system achieves optimal performance for specific applications, but development time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the imaging system into distinct modular segments: front end modules (which can be thermal imagers, visible imagers, or other sensors) and a standardized back end module. This segmentation allows independent development and testing of each module, significantly reducing overall development time while maintaining system performance through standardized interfaces that ensure reliable data transmission and processing between modules.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional imaging systems are designed with fixed architecture, then the system achieves design simplicity, but adaptability to new sensors and technologies decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a standardized interface layer (the universal back end interface) that acts as an intermediary between diverse front end sensors and the core processing system. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of adapting to different sensor types, protocols, and data formats, thereby enabling high adaptability to new sensors and technologies while keeping the overall system architecture relatively simple and manageable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces production costs, power consumption, and development time by allowing reuse of software and facilitating seamless integration of new sensors, while enabling flexible and scalable imaging systems with enhanced image processing capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal imager including a focal plane array (FPA) configured to capture first video data representing thermal images of a scene
Data Source
AI summary
Extensible architecture systems and methods are provided. An imaging system includes a front end (FE) and back end (BE) module. The FE module includes a thermal imager to capture video data representing thermal images of a scene, logic device to process the video data, sensor interface circuit to transmit the video data to the logic device, and FE interface circuit to transmit FE output video data generated based on the processed video data. The BE module includes a BE interface circuit to receive the FE output video data via the FE interface circuit. The BE module further includes a processor to generate a video output based on the FE output video data, and an input/output circuit(s) to interface with an input/output component(s) of the imaging system. The BE interface circuit, processor, and input/output circuits are provided as a system-on-module.