Thermal Camera Shutter Control for Pixel Saturation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal image capture systems face challenges in protecting sensors from sunlight, which can lead to pixel saturation and damage, resulting in prolonged shutter closure times that hinder the detection of objects like pedestrians.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that includes a saturation detection unit to identify saturated pixels, a determination unit to assess pixel damage, and a shutter control unit to minimize shutter closure time by opening the shutter when damage is determined to be recoverable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the shutter is closed to protect the sensor from sunlight, then the sensor is protected from pixel saturation and damage, but objects such as pedestrians cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter control strategy is made dynamic by continuously monitoring pixel saturation status and adjusting shutter state accordingly. The system transitions from static shutter closure to dynamic control where the shutter opens when saturation conditions are no longer present, enabling the sensor to alternate between protected and operational states based on real-time conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback control by detecting saturated pixels and using this information to control shutter operation. The detection unit monitors for saturation conditions, and the shutter control unit responds by closing or opening the shutter based on the detection results, creating a closed-loop control system that balances protection and detection needs.
2Reliability
If the shutter is closed for extended periods to protect the sensor, then pixel damage is prevented, but the time for detecting objects is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of saturation conditions before committing to shutter closure. By detecting saturated pixels first and then selectively closing the shutter only when necessary, the system avoids unnecessary prolonged closure periods, thereby minimizing detection time loss while still preventing pixel damage when saturation is actually occurring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the shutter based on detected conditions. When saturation is detected, the shutter closes; when saturation is not present, the shutter opens. This parameter change approach allows the system to optimize between protection and detection time by adjusting shutter state according to actual thermal environment conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A determination unit determines whether there is a damaged pixel in a range where a predetermined saturated pixel is detected from thermal image data acquired by capturing an image of a shutter having a uniform temperature with a sensor in a state where incidence of light on the sensor is blocked by the shutter. The shutter control unit closes the shutter when the predetermined saturated pixel is detected, and when there is no damaged pixel in the thermal image data captured when the shutter is closed, performs control to open the shutter immediately or after a lapse of a predetermined period of time that is determined in advance as a maximum time required for detection processing of the predetermined saturated pixel, or when there is a damaged pixel, performs control to open the shutter after a lapse of a time in which recovery of the damaged pixel is expected.