A Study on Improved Depth Information Acquisition by Gradual Pixel Bundling Method at Time Multiplexing TOF Sensor

• Published in: International Information Institute (Tokyo). Information Vol. 18; no. 3; p. 1059
• Main Authors: Kwon, Soon Chul, Chae, Ho Byung, Lee, Sung Jin, Son, Kwang Chul, Lee, Seung Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Koganei International Information Institute 01.03.2015
• Subjects: Bundling; Cameras; Image acquisition; Light; Luminance; Marketing; Methods; Pixels; Sensors
• ISSN: 1343-4500; 1344-8994

The depth information of an image can be applied to many fields including interaction, acquisition of three dimensional images and depth keying. The acquisition methods can be categorized into passive and active methods. The passive method allows the acquisition of depth information from stereo image matching or multiple viewpoint two-dimensional images. The active method uses depth cameras such as through time of flight (TOF) or structured light. In particular, the TOF method detects the light that is reflected after infrared ray is projected from the camera to measure the distance. The TOF sensor receives inputs of low luminance by combining several pixels as it is dependent on the sensitivity of the light signal. Eventually, the resolution of the depth information image becomes decreased. Moreover, since the RGB sensor and the TOF sensor are separated, for the alignment of the depth image and the RGB image, a camera calibration needs to be carried out. In this paper, one RGB sensor and TOF sensor is realized through a time sequence method, and the bundling of pixels is used to acquire a low luminance image and a gradual movement of the field is used to acquire a high resolution image. In accordance with gradual pixel bundling, the issue of low lux is resolved without decreasing the image resolution, leading to improved image information with enhanced luminance and resolution without increasing the function of the image sensor.