Real-Time-Programmable Reconfigurable-Vision Active-Pixel Sensors

Active-pixel integrated-circuit image sensors that can be programmed in real-time to effect artificial reconfigurable vision on demand have been developed and demonstrated. In imitation of a natural eye, the image sensor is designed to offer high resolution in a small region of interest (ROI) within its field-of-view (FOV). In this manner, the imager reduces the amount of unwanted information that must be transferred from the image sensor to external image-data-processing circuitry. Such vision systems are especially attractive for applications that involve recognition of objects and/or tracking of moving targets.