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Megapixel single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays have been developed recently, opening up the possibility of deploying SPADs as generalpurpose passive cameras for photography and computer vision. However, most previous work on SPADs has been limited to monochrome imaging. We propose a computational photography technique that reconstructs high-quality color images from mosaicked binary frames captured by a SPAD array, even for high-dyanamic-range (HDR) scenes with complex and rapid motion. Inspired by conventional burst photography approaches, we design algorithms that jointly denoise and demosaick single-photon image sequences. Based on the observation that motion effectively increases the color sample rate, we design a blue-noise pseudorandom RGBW color filter array for SPADs, which is tailored for imaging dark, dynamic scenes. Results on simulated data, as well as real data captured with a fabricated color SPAD hardware prototype shows that the proposed method can reconstruct high-quality images with minimal color artifacts even for challenging low-light, HDR and fast-moving scenes. We hope that this paper, by adding color to computational single-photon imaging, spurs rapid adoption of SPADs for real-world passive imaging applications.
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Pix2HDR - A pixel-wise acquisition and deep learning-based synthesis approach for high-speed HDR videos
Abstract—Accurately capturing dynamic scenes with wideranging motion and light intensity is crucial for many vision applications. However, acquiring high-speed high dynamic range (HDR) video is challenging because the camera’s frame rate restricts its dynamic range. Existing methods sacrifice speed to acquire multi-exposure frames. Yet, misaligned motion in these frames can still pose complications for HDR fusion algorithms, resulting in artifacts. Instead of frame-based exposures, we sample the videos using individual pixels at varying exposures and phase offsets. Implemented on a monochrome pixel-wise programmable image sensor, our sampling pattern captures fast motion at a high dynamic range. We then transform pixel-wise outputs into an HDR video using end-to-end learned weights from deep neural networks, achieving high spatiotemporal resolution with minimized motion blurring. We demonstrate aliasing-free HDR video acquisition at 1000 FPS, resolving fast motion under low-light conditions and against bright backgrounds — both challenging conditions for conventional cameras. By combining the versatility of pixel-wise sampling patterns with the strength of deep neural networks at decoding complex scenes, our method greatly enhances the vision system’s adaptability and performance in dynamic conditions. Index Terms—High-dynamic-range video, high-speed imaging, CMOS image sensors, programmable sensors, deep learning, convolutional neural networks.
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- PAR ID:
- 10542043
- Publisher / Repository:
- IEEE
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence
- ISSN:
- 0162-8828
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 17
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/TPAMI.2024.3410140
