Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lauren L White

Michael W Kelly

Curtis Colonero

Megan H Blackwell

William D Ross

Cindy Y Fang

Lawrence M Candell

Svetlana Panasyuk

Mark Bury

Mark E Beattie

Bobby Ren

Jonathan P Blanchard

Daniel B Chuang

Gary M Long, Jr

Joseph Bari

Christopher Bowen

William Cason

Kyle Bojanowski

Victoria Dye

Donald Johnson

A wide-area motion imaging system provides 360&#xb0; persistent surveillance with a camera array that is small, light-weight, and operates at low power. The camera array is mounted on a tethered drone, which can hover at heights of up to 400', and includes small imagers fitted with lenses of different fixed focal lengths. The tether provides power, communication, and a data link from the camera array to a ground processing server that receives, processes and stores the imagery. The server also collects absolute and relative position data from a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) carried by the drone. The server uses this position data to correct the rolling shutter effect and to stabilize and georectify the final images, which can be stitched together and shown to a user live or in playback via a separate user interface.

Wide-area motion imaging systems and methods

In time-delay-and-integrate (TDI) imaging, a charge-couple device (CCD) integrates and transfers charge across its columns. Unfortunately, the limited well depth of the CCD limits the dynamic range of the resulting image. Fortunately, TDI imaging can be implemented with a digital focal plane array (DFPA) that includes a detector, analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and counter in each pixel and transfer circuitry connected adjacent pixels. During each integration period in the TDI scan, each detector in the DFPA generates a photocurrent that the corresponding ADC turns into digital pulses, which the corresponding counter counts. Between integration periods, the DFPA transfers the counts from one column to the next, just like in a TDI CCD. The DFPA also non-destructively transfers some or all of the counts to a separate memory. A processor uses these counts to estimate photon flux and correct any rollovers caused by 'saturation' of the counters.

Methods and apparatus for true high dynamic range (THDR) time-delay-and-integrate (TDI) imaging

Security guards at large facilities, such as airports, monitor multiple screens that display images from individual surveillance cameras dispersed throughout the facility. If a guard zooms with a particular camera, he may lose image resolution, along with perspective on the surrounding area. Embodiments of the inventive Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance (ISIS) solve these problems by combining multiple cameras in one device. When properly mounted, example ISIS systems offer up to 360-degree, 240-megapixel views on a single screen. (Other fields of view and resolutions are also possible.) Image-stitching software merges multiple video feeds into one scene. The system also allows operators to tag and follow targets, and can monitor restricted areas and sound an alert when intruders breach them.

Imaging systems and methods for immersive surveillance

Growing community of inventors

Burlington, MA, United States of America

Lauren L White