US 12,482,055 B2
Systems and methods for memory-efficient pixel histogramming
Hod Finkelstein, Albany, CA (US); Noah Bronstein, Dublin, CA (US); and Allan Steinhardt, Dublin, CA (US)
Assigned to AEye. Inc., Dublin, CA (US)
Filed by AEYE, Inc., Dublin, CA (US)
Filed on Dec. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/066,647.
Application 18/066,647 is a continuation of application No. PCT/US2022/052775, filed on Dec. 14, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/304,603, filed on Jan. 29, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/291,387, filed on Dec. 18, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0196501 A1, Jun. 22, 2023
Int. Cl. G06T 1/60 (2006.01); G01S 7/48 (2006.01); G01S 7/4863 (2020.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01); G06T 7/55 (2017.01); G06T 7/77 (2017.01)
CPC G06T 1/60 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4808 (2013.01); G01S 7/4863 (2013.01); G01S 17/89 (2013.01); G06T 7/55 (2017.01); G06T 7/77 (2017.01); G06T 2207/10028 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20021 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system comprising:
a photodetector having a field of view, wherein the photodetector generates signals indicative of photon detections in response to incident light over time;
a memory; and
a circuit that generates histogram data in the memory based on the generated signals over a time period corresponding to a plurality of light pulse cycles, wherein the histogram data corresponds to a depth-image frame and comprises accumulations of photon detection counts in a plurality of bins over the time period;
wherein the circuit generates the histogram data over a plurality of collection subframes of the depth-image frame by allocating photon detections to bins using different bin maps for different collection subframes, wherein each bin map defines a different mapping of time to bins for the light pulse cycles within its applicable collection subframe, and wherein each mapping defines a bin width for its bins so that its bin map covers a maximum detection range for the depth-image frame, wherein the bin maps comprise a first bin map and a second bin map, wherein the first and second bin maps define different bin widths for their applicable collection subframes, wherein at least one of the bin maps includes a wraparound of bins in its mapping of time to bins over the maximum detection range, wherein at least one of the bin maps uses a bin offset to define which of the bins is mapped to an initial time for the at least one bin map so that each unit of resolvable range for the histogram data maps to a unique combination of peak bin positions for the different bin maps, wherein the bin widths, the maximum detection range, and the bin offset exhibit values so that there are not any overlaps in peak bin positions within the histogram data generated using the different bin maps for each unit of resolvable range for the histogram data; and
wherein a range to an object in the field of view within the maximum detection range is resolvable based on the histogram data according to a combination of bin positions for peak bins in the histogram data with respect to the different collection subframes.