Abstract: Modules and control units cooperate to simultaneously and independently control and adjust pixel parameters non-uniformly at regional increments across an entire image captured in an image frame by pixels in a pixel array. Pixel parameter changes for pixels in a given region occur, based on i) a contextual understanding of what contextually was happening in the one or more prior image frames and ii) whether salient items are located within that region. Additionally, guidance is sent to the sensor control unit to i) increase or decrease pixel parameters within those regions with salient items and then either to i) maintain, ii) increase or iii) decrease pixel parameters within regions without salient items in order to stay within any i) bandwidth limitations ii) memory storage, and/or iii) power consumptions limitations imposed by 1) one or more image sensors or 2) the communication loop between the sensor control unit and the image processing unit.

Abstract: Modules and control units cooperate to simultaneously and independently control and adjust pixel parameters non-uniformly at regional increments across an entire image captured in an image frame by pixels in a pixel array. Pixel parameter changes for pixels in a given region occur, based on i) a contextual understanding of what contextually was happening in the one or more prior image frames and ii) whether salient items are located within that region. Additionally, guidance is sent to the sensor control unit to i) increase or decrease pixel parameters within those regions with salient items and then either to i) maintain, ii) increase or iii) decrease pixel parameters within regions without salient items in order to stay within any i) bandwidth limitations ii) memory storage, and/or iii) power consumptions limitations imposed by 1) one or more image sensors or 2) the communication loop between the sensor control unit and the image processing unit.

Abstract: In a system for locating one object relative to another where one object is referenced to an active beacon and the other object is referenced to a solid state imaging device, circuitry determines the centroid of the image of the beacon as imposed on the imager. In accordance with the invention, the beacon is operated successively at two different wavelengths and two different centroids are determined. Based on a priori knowledge of imager responses at the two different wavelengths, the location capabilities of the system are improved relative to that when only one wavelength is utilized.

Abstract: A compound imager consists of two or more individual chips, each with at least one line array of sensors thereupon. Each chip has a glass support plate attached to the side from which light reaches the line arrays. The chips are butted together end-to-end to make large line arrays of sensors. Because of imperfections in cutting, the butted surfaces define a gap. Light entering in the region of the gap is either lost or falls on an individual imager other than the one for which it is intended. This results in vignetting and/or crosstalk near the butted region. The gap is filled with an epoxy resin or other similar material which, when hardened, has an index of referaction near that of the glass support plate.

Abstract: The effective capacitance of the floating diffusion in a floating-diffusion electrometer is modified to adjust electrometer sensitivity. This is done by changing the direct potential applied to a gate electrode proximate to the floating diffusion.

Abstract: A CCD parallel-to-serial converter comprising two successions of charge transfer stages, recurrently side-loaded with respective ones of parallelly supplied charge packets, then serially unloaded by time-interleaved respective shift register operations. The charge packets converted to time-division-multiplexed serial form are supplied to a shared electrometer, and the electrometer response is de-multiplexed. Preferably, shift register operations are carried forward concurrently at the same rate, but with the final charge transfer stages clocked in phases staggered in time.

Abstract: A bias charge (commonly known as a "fat zero") is divided into a plurality, n, of equal parts. These equal parts are differentially delayed, and the results appearing parallel in time are summed to generate a bias charge with reduced noise. The reduced-noise bias charge is then applied to an input of a charge transfer device -- e.g., one of the charge coupled device (CCD) analog shift registers used in a CCD imager to transport charge packets descriptive of picture elements in an imager.

Abstract: The respective pixel stages of an electro-optical transversal filter may be intimately associated with corresponding stages of a CCD shift register means in a monolithic structure on an integrated chip. The shift register means, which operates to forward a pre-selected one of a set of analog reference weights to each of the transversal filter pixel stages, permits the transversal filter to be used in an electro-optical correlation means having a very high effective computation rate.

Abstract: Thinned, contiguous imager chips, are arranged end-to-end, and accurately positioned relative to one another, that is, are positioned so that the proper spacing period between adjacent imager pixel detectors is maintained, by using a lap joint between contiguous chips. The use of a lap joint rather than a butt joint permits operation without any significant phase difference occurring and without any pixel detector gap occurring at the lap joint seam. Further, such a lap joint permits proper operation to be obtained even with relatively coarse chip-edge tolerances.