System and method for monitoring multiple targets using a single camera

摘要

Techniques to monitor multiple targets with a single camera are disclosed. In one embodiment, an image sensor is provided with two or more readout circuits, each operating independently and is designed to read out charges from a designated area of the image sensor. When two or more designated sensing areas in the image sensor are being focused onto different objects and read out respectively, such an image sensor is capable of monitoring multiple targets. When placed in traffic surveillance, a camera equipped with such an image sensor is able to monitor multiple forward and backward lanes in near or far field. Further with the control of the designated areas, different resolutions of the images may be produced.

主权项

1. A camera for monitoring multiple targets, the camera comprising:
an image sensor being divided into N non-overlapping sensing areas respectively controlled by N integration times to ensure that each of the sensing areas outputs a properly-exposed sensing signal when the camera is operated to sense a scene,
wherein the image sensor includes an array of pixels, each of the pixels includes:
M subpixels, coupled respectively to M readout circuits, producing M pixel-level sensing signals, each of the M readout circuits coupled to one of the M subpixels to read out one of the M pixel-level sensing signals therefrom;an integrator provided to combine the M pixel-level sensing signals of the M subpixels to produce a final pixel-level sensing signal of the each of the pixels, wherein M anti-blooming circuits are provided to ensure each of the M pixel-level sensing signals does not exceed a predefined threshold before the M pixel-level sensing signals are combined in the integrator; and N readout circuits, each of the N readout circuits coupled to one of the sensing areas to read out the properly-exposed sensing signal therefrom when the camera is operated to sense a scene including the multiple targets.