Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Arrigo Benedetti

Cyrus Soli Bamji

Onur Can Akkaya

Michael Scott Fenton

Jayachandra Gullapalli

Example imaging systems are disclosed. One example includes a signal source and a signal receiver configured to receive a reflected electromagnetic signal from an imaged object. The imaging system further includes a processor configured to, for each of N wavelengths, determine a phase value of a reflected component of the reflected electromagnetic signal having that wavelength. The processor may compute an estimated distance to the imaged object at least in part by mapping the plurality of phase values to a 2N-dimensional vector, and computing a plurality of zeroes of a trigonometric polynomial. For each of the plurality of zeroes, computing the estimated distance may further include computing a respective geodesic distance between the 2N-dimensional vector and a point along the curve evaluated at that zero, and selecting and outputting a shortest geodesic distance multiplied by a least common multiple of the wavelengths.

Phase unwrapping with multiple wavelengths on a flat torus

An imaging method includes acquiring one or more passive light images of a scene. A region of interest in the scene is identified based on the one or more passive light images. One or more illumination zones of a plurality of illumination zones that collectively cover the region of interest is determined. Each illumination zone is sized according to active illumination emitted from a steerable illumination source. For a determined illumination zone of the one or more illumination zones, the illumination zone is individually illuminated with the active illumination from the steerable illumination source. For a pixel of a sensor array that maps to the illumination zone, a depth value of an object locus in the scene reflecting the active illumination back to the pixel is determined.

Selective power efficient three-dimensional imaging

An active illumination range camera operable to determine distances to features in a scene, and comprising an illumination system and imaging system simultaneously controllable to provide a FOI and a FOV that coincide at, and are substantially coextensive with, a region of interest (ROI) in a portion of the scene and track the ROI as it moves.

Active illumination 3D imaging system

A camera includes a sensor array including a plurality of individually addressable sensor elements, each of the plurality of sensor elements responsive to incident light over a broad wavelength band. Covering the sensor array is a light valve switchable electronically between closed and open states. The light valve is configured to, in the closed state, block light of a stopband and transmit light outside the stopband, and, in the open state, transmit the light of the stopband. An electronic controller of the camera is configured to switch the light valve from the closed to the open state and, synchronously with switching the light valve, address the sensor elements of the sensor array.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Arrigo Benedetti