Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Lorenzo Sorgi

Eliezer Rosengaus

Abhinav Kashyap

Paul Eugene Munger

Markus Stefan Duelli

Christopher Samuel Zakian

Cory Keitz

Pramod Sreenivasa

Described are systems, methods, and apparatus for generating motion extracted images having a high dynamic range ('HDR') based on image data obtained from one or more image sensors at different times. The implementations described herein may be used with a single image sensor or camera that obtains images at different exposures sequentially in time. The images may be processed to detect an object moving within the field of view and pixel information corresponding to that moving object extracted. The non-extracted image data may then be combined to produce a motion extracted HDR image that is substantially devoid of the moving object.

Event detection using motion extracted image comparison

Described are systems and methods for generating high dynamic range ('HDR') images based on image data obtained from different image sensors for use in detecting events and monitoring inventory within a materials handling facility. The different image sensors may be aligned and calibrated and the image data from the sensors may be generated at approximately the same time but at different exposures. The image data may then be preprocessed, matched, aligned, and blended to produce an HDR image that does not include overexposed regions or underexposed regions.

Aligning and blending image data from multiple image sensors

Generating motion extracted images

A time-of-flight camera may be used to generate depth images of a scene, where the scene includes retroreflective materials. The time-of-flight camera may capture first sensor data by illuminating the scene at a first energy level, and by exposing a sensor for a first duration. If portions of the sensor are saturated by light reflected from retroreflective materials, corrupted pixels are detected within the first sensor data. A second set of sensor data may be captured by illuminating the scene at a second energy level, or by exposing the sensor for a second duration. The corrupted pixels may be identified and masked from the first sensor data, which may be blended with corresponding portions of the second sensor data to generate a depth image.

Temporal high dynamic range imaging using time-of-flight cameras

High dynamic range imaging for event detection and inventory management

A shifted-lens imaging device mounted in association with a storage unit captures images of interactions by personnel with items on the storage unit. The images are processed to identify the items and/or the personnel, and to store an association of the personnel with the items in one or more data stores. The shifted-lens imaging device is mounted to the storage unit directly, such as by one or more extensions, and aligned to include a planar area of interest associated with the storage unit, such as a frontal area of the storage unit, within a field of view. A lens of the shifted-lens imaging device is shifted in parallel with the imaging sensor by an offset or distance that may be selected based on a focal length of the imaging device and a distance between the imaging device and dimensions of the planar area of interest.

Storage units with shifted-lens cameras

A plurality of cameras obtain images in an environment. Calibration data about the translation and rotation of the cameras is used to support functionality such as determining a location of an object that appears in those images. To determine the calibration data, images are processed to determine features produced by points in the environment. A cluster is designated that includes the images of the same point as viewed from at least some of the cameras. A triangulation matrix and back-projection error are calculated for each cluster. These triangulation matrices and back-projection errors are then perturbed to find the translation and rotation that minimize eigenvalues and eigenvectors representative of the feature. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors are then used to determine the rotation and translation of the respective cameras with respect to an origin.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Lorenzo Sorgi