US 11,941,859 B2
Camera and method for processing image data
Jean Stawiaski, Waldkirch (DE); Thorsten Falk, Waldkirch (DE); and Johannes Rheinboldt, Waldkirch (DE)
Assigned to SICk AG, Waldkirch (DE)
Filed by SICK AG, Waldkirch (DE)
Filed on May 19, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/324,743.
Claims priority of application No. 20176228 (EP), filed on May 25, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0368096 A1, Nov. 25, 2021
Int. Cl. G06V 10/22 (2022.01); G06N 3/045 (2023.01); G06V 10/10 (2022.01); G06V 10/44 (2022.01); G06V 10/764 (2022.01); G06V 10/82 (2022.01)
CPC G06V 10/225 (2022.01) [G06N 3/045 (2023.01); G06V 10/10 (2022.01); G06V 10/454 (2022.01); G06V 10/764 (2022.01); G06V 10/82 (2022.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A camera (10) comprising:
an image sensor (24) for capturing image data with a plurality of pixels, a first processing unit (30) for reading out the image data of the image sensor (24) in an image data stream comprising groups of adjacent pixels;
a second processing unit (32) for processing the image data; and
a memory (34) for storing at least one of the image data and processing results from the image data,
wherein a neural network (38) comprising a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is implemented on at least one of the first processing unit (30) and the second processing unit (32),
wherein the first processing unit (30) is configured to have started processing groups of pixels with at least a first layer (42) of the neural network while further groups of the image data are still being read out from the image sensor (24), thereby implementing on-the-fly or pipelined processing of data layers while still processing additional data layers,
and wherein the second processing unit (32) comprises a classical decoder (40) operating without the neural network for reading codes (20), and at least one of further layers (44) of the neural network and/or a further neural network are implemented on the second processing unit (32) in order to further process at least one of the image data and the processing results of the first processing unit (30).