US 12,320,705 B2
Polarization imaging device and method for polarization imaging
Yalcin Incesu, Stuttgart (DE); and Alexander Gatto, Stuttgart (DE)
Assigned to SONY GROUP CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 17/777,633
Filed by Sony Group Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Nov. 26, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/083484
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 18, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/105271, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 3, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 19211809 (EP), filed on Nov. 27, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0026636 A1, Jan. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. G01J 4/04 (2006.01); G02B 27/28 (2006.01)
CPC G01J 4/04 (2013.01) [G02B 27/286 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A polarization imaging device, comprising:
a plurality of imaging elements;
a set of event sensors configured to
detect an electrical signal being generated in response to a photoelectric conversion in one or more of the plurality of imaging elements, and
detect an event being indicative of an intensity change of light by triggering the event when a change in light intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold;
a set of polarization filters; and
a set of tunable polarizers configured to adjust a polarization of the light in response to an electric signal;
wherein each polarization filter of the set of polarization filters is associated with a respective tunable polarizer of the set of tunable polarizers, thereby configuring a set of tunable polarization filters, such that the set of tunable polarization filters is associated with the set of event sensors, and
wherein the set of event sensors are configured to detect a sequence of positive and negative events indicating increases and decreases in light intensity over time relative to the predetermined threshold.