Patents Assigned to Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AG
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Patent number: 11991466Abstract: In dynamic vision sensor (DVS) or change detection sensors, the chip or sensor is configured to control or modulate the event rate. For example, this control can be used to keep the event rate close to a desired rate or within desired bounds. Adapting the configuration of the sensor to the scene by changing the ON-event and/or the OFF-event thresholds, allows having necessary amount of data, but not much more than necessary, such that the overall system gets as much information about its state as possible.Type: GrantFiled: August 16, 2022Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 11936995Abstract: An event-based vision sensor system comprises an event-based pixel array including pixels that detect light, a readout circuit for reading out events associated with light received by each pixel and with the position it occupies in the array, and a memory controller that enables writing of each event, or event-related data, associated with a certain pixel to a certain address in a memory.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2021Date of Patent: March 19, 2024Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brandli, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 11886637Abstract: A method and system for rendering an augmented reality scene on a mobile computing device tracks a real-world scene and/or a viewpoint of a user with one or more event-based vision sensors and blends an augmented reality scene displayed on the mobile computing device based on the viewpoint of the user and a scene map of the real-world scene and on the tracking of the one or more event-based vision sensors. Event-based vision sensors offer many advantages, mainly by intrinsically compressing the data stream and thus reducing the amount of data that a processing unit needs to perform. Furthermore, the event-based vision sensor pixels continuously sense the visual changes in the scene and report them with a very low latency. This makes the event-based vision sensor an ideal sensor for always-on tasks such as visual tracking and smart sensor control or data enhancement of secondary sensing modalities.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2022Date of Patent: January 30, 2024Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Christian Brandli, Raphael Berner, Michael Gassner
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Patent number: 11856310Abstract: An event based pixel sensor system employing delay equalization between differently illuminated pixels.Type: GrantFiled: September 1, 2020Date of Patent: December 26, 2023Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventor: Raphael Berner
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Patent number: 11825218Abstract: An event based pixel sensor system employs regions of interest or regions of non-interest, which are preferably dynamic, to isolate change events and reduce data from non-interesting events.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2020Date of Patent: November 21, 2023Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Marc Osswald, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 11825229Abstract: A dynamic vision sensor such as an event based vision sensor employs analog to digital converters (ADC), such as ramp ADCs, that analog to digital converts the signals from photoreceptors. Only previous light values need to be stored in the pixels. This is accomplished by generating three ramps. In addition, log compression can be implemented by increasing the count linearly while increasing the reference voltage exponentially, or increasing the count logarithmically while increasing the reference voltage linearly.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2020Date of Patent: November 21, 2023Assignee: SONY ADVANCED VISUAL SENSING AGInventors: Christian Brändli, Raphael Berner
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Patent number: 11812169Abstract: A dynamic vision sensor such as an event based vision sensor employs analog to digital converters (ADC), such as ramp ADCs, that analog to digital converts the signals from photoreceptors. Current and previous light values are then stored and compared digitally. In addition, log compression can be implemented by increasing the count linearly while increasing the reference voltage exponentially, or increasing the count logarithmically while increasing the reference voltage linearly.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2020Date of Patent: November 7, 2023Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Christian Brändli, Raphael Berner
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Patent number: 11711631Abstract: A dynamic vision sensor (DVS) or change detection sensor reacts to changes in light intensity and in this way monitors how a scene changes. This disclosure covers both single pixel and array architectures. The DVS may contain one pixel or 2-dimensional or 1-dimensional array of pixels. The change of intensities registered by pixels are compared, and pixel addresses where the change is positive or negative are recorded and processed. Analyzing frames based on just three values for pixels, increase, decrease or unchanged, the proposed DVS can process visual information much faster than traditional computer vision systems, which correlate multi-bit color or gray level pixel values between successive frames.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2021Date of Patent: July 25, 2023Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli
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Patent number: 11652126Abstract: An event-based vision sensor is fabricated using an advanced stacking technique, known as Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuit, which stacks more wafers (or dies) and interconnects them vertically. The electronic integrated circuits of the sensor are then distributed between the two or more electrically connected dies.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2021Date of Patent: May 16, 2023Assignee: SONY ADVANCED VISUAL SENSING AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 11526209Abstract: A method and system for rendering an augmented reality scene on a mobile computing device tracks a real-world scene and/or a viewpoint of a user with one or more event-based vision sensors and blends an augmented reality scene displayed on the mobile computing device based on the viewpoint of the user and a scene map of the real-world scene and on the tracking of the one or more event-based vision sensors. Event-based vision sensors offer many advantages, mainly by intrinsically compressing the data stream and thus reducing the amount of data that a processing unit needs to perform. Furthermore, the event-based vision sensor pixels continuously sense the visual changes in the scene and report them with a very low latency. This makes the event-based vision sensor an ideal sensor for always-on tasks such as visual tracking and smart sensor control or data enhancement of secondary sensing modalities.Type: GrantFiled: January 21, 2020Date of Patent: December 13, 2022Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Christian Brändli, Raphael Berner, Michael Gassner
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Patent number: 11463637Abstract: According to the present invention there is provided a vision sensor comprising, an array of pixels comprising rows and columns of pixels, wherein each pixel in the array comprises, a photosensor which is configured to output a current proportional to the intensity of light which is incident on the photosensor; a current source which is configured such that it can output a current which has a constant current level which is equal to the current level of the current output by the photosensor at a selected first instant in time, and can maintain that constant current level even if the level of the current output from the photosensor changes after said selected first instant in time; an integrator which is configured to integrate the difference between the level of current output by the current source and the level of current output by the photosensor, after the selected first instant in time; wherein the vision sensor further comprises a counter which can measure time, wherein the counter is configured such thaType: GrantFiled: May 17, 2021Date of Patent: October 4, 2022Assignee: SONY ADVANCED VISUAL SENSING AGInventors: Raphaël Berner, Marc Osswald
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Patent number: 11431937Abstract: In dynamic vision sensor (DVS) or change detection sensors, the chip or sensor is configured to control or modulate the event rate. For example, this control can be used to keep the event rate close to a desired rate or within desired bounds. Adapting the configuration of the sensor to the scene by changing the ON-event and/or the OFF-event thresholds, allows having necessary amount of data, but not much more than necessary, such that the overall system gets as much information about its state as possible.Type: GrantFiled: May 27, 2020Date of Patent: August 30, 2022Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphaël Berner, Christian Brändli, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 11363218Abstract: According to the present invention there is provided a vision sensor comprising, an array of pixels (101) comprising rows and columns of pixels, wherein each pixel has an address assigned thereto which represents the position of the pixel in the array, wherein each pixel in the array of pixels comprises a photodiode (103) which can receive light, and which can output current having an amplitude proportional to the intensity of the received light; a photoreceptor circuit (104) which is electronically connected to the photodiode, and which is configured to convert current which it receives from the photodiode into a voltage; a first storage capacitor (105), and at least a first switch which (106) is positioned between the first storage capacitor and an output of the photoreceptor circuit, wherein the first switch can be selectively closed to electronically connect the output of the photoreceptor circuit to the first storage capacitor, or selectively opened to electronically disconnect the output of the photorecType: GrantFiled: December 17, 2020Date of Patent: June 14, 2022Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventor: Raphael Berner
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Patent number: 11336859Abstract: In an image sensor, some pixels in an array contain a sampling circuit to sample the light intensity and a capacitor to store an analog value representing the intensity at that pixel. Alternatively, a group of pixel circuits will be equipped with such sampling and capacitor circuits. This allows simple redundancy-reducing computations with a relatively simple pixel architecture.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 2020Date of Patent: May 17, 2022Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli
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Patent number: 11212468Abstract: An event-based vision sensor system comprises an event-based pixel array including pixels that detect light, a readout circuit for reading out events associated with light received by each pixel and with the position it occupies in the array, and a memory controller that enables writing of each event, or event-related data, associated with a certain pixel to a certain address in a memory.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2019Date of Patent: December 28, 2021Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 11076114Abstract: A dynamic vision sensor (DVS) or change detection sensor reacts to changes in light intensity and in this way monitors how a scene changes. This disclosure covers both single pixel and array architectures. The DVS may contain one pixel or 2-dimensional or 1-dimensional array of pixels. The change of intensities registered by pixels are compared, and pixel addresses where the change is positive or negative are recorded and processed. Analyzing frames based on just three values for pixels, increase, decrease or unchanged, the proposed DVS can process visual information much faster than traditional computer vision systems, which correlate multi-bit color or gray level pixel values between successive frames.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2020Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli
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Patent number: 11012646Abstract: According to the present invention there is provided a vision sensor comprising, an array of pixels comprising rows and columns of pixels, wherein each pixel in the array comprises, a photosensor which is configured to output a current proportional to the intensity of light which is incident on the photosensor; a current source which is configured such that it can output a current which has a constant current level which is equal to the current level of the current output by the photosensor at a selected first instant in time, and can maintain that constant current level even if the level of the current output from the photosensor changes after said selected first instant in time; an integrator which is configured to integrate the difference between the level of current output by the current source and the level of current output by the photosensor, after the selected first instant in time; wherein the vision sensor further comprises a counter which can measure time, wherein the counter is configured such thaType: GrantFiled: April 2, 2020Date of Patent: May 18, 2021Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphaël Berner, Marc Osswald
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Patent number: 10923520Abstract: An event-based vision sensor is fabricated using an advanced stacking technique, known as Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuit, which stacks more wafers (or dies) and interconnects them vertically. The electronic integrated circuits of the sensor are then distributed between the two or more electrically connected dies.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2019Date of Patent: February 16, 2021Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventors: Raphael Berner, Christian Brändli, Massimo Zannoni
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Patent number: 10904462Abstract: According to the present invention there is provided a vision sensor comprising, an array of pixels (101) comprising rows and columns of pixels, wherein each pixel has an address assigned thereto which represents the position of the pixel in the array, wherein each pixel in the array of pixels comprises a photodiode (103) which can receive light, and which can output current having an amplitude proportional to the intensity of the received light; a photoreceptor circuit (104) which is electronically connected to the photodiode, and which is configured to convert current which it receives from the photodiode into a voltage; a first storage capacitor (105), and at least a first switch which (106) is positioned between the first storage capacitor and an output of the photoreceptor circuit, wherein the first switch can be selectively closed to electronically connect the output of the photoreceptor circuit to the first storage capacitor, or selectively opened to electronically disconnect the output of the photorecType: GrantFiled: November 13, 2019Date of Patent: January 26, 2021Assignee: Sony Advanced Visual Sensing AGInventor: Raphael Berner