US 12,244,933 B2
Adaptive illumination for a time-of-flight camera on a vehicle
Ke Xu, San Diego, CA (US); Xue Mei, San Diego, CA (US); and Zehua Huang, San Diego, CA (US)
Assigned to TUSIMPLE, INC., San Diego, CA (US)
Filed by TUSIMPLE, INC., San Diego, CA (US)
Filed on Dec. 8, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/533,417.
Application 18/533,417 is a continuation of application No. 17/986,744, filed on Nov. 14, 2022, granted, now 11,877,066.
Application 17/986,744 is a continuation of application No. 17/325,135, filed on May 19, 2021, granted, now 11,523,067, issued on Dec. 6, 2022.
Application 17/325,135 is a continuation of application No. 16/127,022, filed on Sep. 10, 2018, granted, now 11,019,274, issued on May 25, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0107175 A1, Mar. 28, 2024
Int. Cl. H04N 23/73 (2023.01); B60R 11/04 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); G05D 1/228 (2024.01); G05D 1/249 (2024.01); H04N 25/534 (2023.01)
CPC H04N 23/73 (2023.01) [B60R 11/04 (2013.01); G05D 1/0088 (2013.01); G05D 1/0246 (2013.01); G05D 1/228 (2024.01); G05D 1/249 (2024.01); H04N 25/534 (2023.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
for each of a plurality of pixel regions of an image sensor,
associating the pixel region with at least one of a plurality of objects;
determining an exposure duration based on light intensity received at the pixel region; and
determining a start time for exposure of the pixel region based on the exposure duration and a distance between the at least one object and the image sensor; and
obtaining an image of the plurality of objects by gating exposures of the plurality of pixel regions based on their respective start times and exposure durations,
wherein the start time of the pixel region associated with at least one object corresponds to a time of flight of light from a light source to the at least one object and back from the at least one object to the image sensor.