阅读说明：本技术 传感器模块，电子设备，对象检测方法和程序 (Sensor module, electronic device, object detection method, and program ) 是由 长沼宏昌 于 2019-09-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供的是一种传感器模块以及设置有这种传感器模块的电子设备,传感器模块设置有：事件驱动视觉传感器,该事件驱动视觉传感器包括由传感器构成的传感器阵列,其中每个传感器在检测到入射光的强度中的变化时产生事件信号；以及致动器,其耦合到传感器阵列并且被配置成在预定方向上移位传感器阵列。(Provided are a sensor module and an electronic device provided with the sensor module, the sensor module being provided with: an event-driven vision sensor comprising a sensor array of sensors, wherein each sensor generates an event signal upon detecting a change in intensity of incident light; and an actuator coupled to the sensor array and configured to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction.)

1. A sensor module, comprising:

an event driven vision sensor comprising a sensor array having sensors that generate an event signal when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light; and

an actuator connected to the sensor array and configured to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction.

2. The sensor module of claim 1, wherein

The predetermined direction is a direction perpendicular to an optical axis direction of the sensor.

3. The sensor module of claim 1 or 2, wherein

The actuator is configured to vibrate the sensor array in the predetermined direction.

4. The sensor module of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

a control unit that receives the event signal and detects an object from the event signal.

5. The sensor module of claim 4, wherein

The control unit transmits a control signal to the actuator for displacing the sensor array in the predetermined direction, and detects the object from the event signal generated after the transmission of the control signal.

6. The sensor module of claim 5, wherein

The control unit treats an event signal received within a predetermined period from the transmission of the control signal and an event signal received at a time other than the predetermined period, respectively.

7. An electronic device, comprising:

the sensor module of any one of claims 1 to 6 comprising a sensor array having sensors that generate event signals when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light.

8. An object detection method by using an event-driven vision sensor including a sensor array having sensors that generate an event signal when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light, the method comprising the steps of:

driving an actuator connected to the sensor array to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction; and

detecting an object from the event signal generated after the sensor array is shifted.

9. A program for causing processing circuitry connected to an event-driven vision sensor comprising a sensor array having sensors that generate event signals when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light to perform steps comprising:

driving an actuator connected to the sensor array to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction; and

detecting an object from the event signal generated after the sensor array is shifted.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a sensor module, an electronic apparatus, an object detection method, and a program.

Background

An event-driven vision sensor is known in which pixels that detect changes in incident light intensity generate signals asynchronously in time. The event-driven vision sensor has an advantage in that the sensor can operate at low power and high speed, as compared to a frame type vision sensor (specifically, an image sensor such as a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) or a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS)) that scans all pixels at a predetermined period. Techniques regarding such event-driven vision sensors are described in PTL 1 and PTL 2, for example.

[ citation list ]

[ patent document ]

[PTL 1]

JP-T-2014-535098

[PTL 2]

JP 2018-85725 A

Disclosure of Invention

[ problem ] to

However, although the above-described advantages with respect to the event-driven vision sensor are known, it is hard to say that a peripheral technique that considers different characteristics from those of a conventional vision sensor (e.g., a frame-type vision sensor) has been sufficiently proposed.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sensor module, an electronic device, an object detection method, and a program, which enable events to be generated at a given timing in an event-driven vision sensor.

[ solution of problem ]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sensor module including: an event driven vision sensor comprising a sensor array having sensors that generate an event signal when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light; and an actuator connected to the sensor array and configured to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object detection method by using an event-driven vision sensor including a sensor array having sensors that generate an event signal when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light, and including the steps of: driving an actuator connected to the sensor array to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction; and detecting an object from the event signal generated after the sensor array is shifted.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program causing a processing circuit connected to an event-driven vision sensor to execute the steps of: driving an actuator connected to a sensor array to displace the sensor array in a predetermined direction; and detecting an object from the event signal generated after the sensor array is displaced, wherein the event-driven vision sensor includes the sensor array having sensors that generate an event signal when the sensors detect a change in intensity of incident light.

According to the above configuration, the actuator can shift the sensor array at a given timing in the event-driven vision sensor to generate an event.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic apparatus including a sensor module according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a first example of the operation of the sensor module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of the operation of the sensor module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a third example of the operation of the sensor module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic apparatus including a sensor module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a first example of the operation of the sensor module according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of the operation of the sensor module according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a processing circuit of the control unit in the case of performing motion prediction in the second embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Incidentally, in the present specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference symbols, and therefore, duplicate description will be omitted.

(first embodiment)

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic apparatus including a sensor module according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the electronic device 10 includes a sensor module 100 and a control unit 200.

The sensor module 100 includes an event driven vision sensor 110, an actuator 120, and a shutter 130. The vision sensor 110 includes a sensor array 111 having sensors 111A,111B, … corresponding to pixels of an image, and processing circuitry 112 connected to the sensor array 111. The sensors 111A, 111B. The event signal is output from the processing circuit 112, for example, as a time stamp, sensor identification information (e.g., pixel position), and information indicating the polarity (increase or decrease) of the luminance change. As an object moves within the viewing angle of the sensor array 111, the movement of the object may be detected chronologically due to, for example, event signals generated by the sensors 111A,111B … … corresponding to the edges of the object, as the intensity of light reflected or scattered by the object changes.

Here, as described above, the event-driven vision sensor 110 has an advantage in that it can operate at high speed with low power consumption, compared to a frame-type vision sensor. This is because, among the sensors 111A,111B, … constituting the sensor array 111, only the sensor that detects a change in luminance generates an event signal. Since the sensor that does not detect the change in brightness does not generate an event signal, the processing circuit 112 can process and transmit at high speed only the event signal of the sensor that detects the change in brightness. In addition, processing and transmission processes do not occur without a change in brightness, thereby enabling low power operation. On the other hand, even if an object exists within the angle of view of the sensor array 111, the luminance does not change unless the object is displaced, and therefore it is difficult to obtain an object that does not move by using the event signals generated by the sensors 111A,111B …. That is, it is difficult to obtain information on the surrounding environment including the stationary object only by the vision sensor 110.

In the present embodiment, the sensor module 100 includes an actuator 120 connected to the vision sensor 110. The actuator 120 is driven according to a control signal sent from the control unit 200, and the actuator is configured to displace the sensor array 111, for example, in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the sensors 111A,111B …. When the actuator 120 displaces the sensor array 111, the positional relationship between all the sensors 111A, 111B. That is, at this time, the same change occurs as when all objects have moved within the angle of view of the sensor array 111. Therefore, regardless of whether the object is actually moving, the object can be detected by the time signal generated by, for example, the sensor 111A,111B … corresponding to the edge of the object. Since the amount of displacement of the sensor array 111 required to produce the above-described variation is not large, the actuator 120 may be a device such as a vibrator that slightly displaces or vibrates the sensor array 111.

Note that, in the above description, an example has been described in which the direction in which the actuator 120 displaces the sensor array 111 is perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the sensors 111A,111B …, but in the case where the displacement direction is not perpendicular to the optical axis direction (that is, even if the displacement direction is parallel to the direction of the optical axis), the positional relationship between all the sensors 111A,111B … and the object changes. Thus, the actuator 120 can displace the sensor array 111 in a given direction. Note that in the configuration in which the shift direction is perpendicular or almost perpendicular to the optical axis direction, it is advantageous that the shift amount of the sensor array 111 required to produce the above-described variation is minimized, and in the sensors 111A,111B …, the positional relationship with the object changes in a substantially uniform manner.

Further, in the present embodiment, the sensor module 100 includes a shutter 130. The shutter 130 is provided to enable the entire viewing angle of the sensor array 111 of the vision sensor 110 to be shielded and opened. The shutter 130 may be a mechanical shutter such as a focal plane shutter or a lens shutter, or an electronic shutter such as a liquid crystal shutter. When the shutter 130 that has been opened is closed, the entire angle of view of the sensor array 111 is shielded, so that the intensity of light incident on all the sensors 111A, 111B. Further, when the shutter 130 that has been closed is opened, the entire angle of view of the sensor array 111 is opened, which in principle results in a change to improve the brightness in all the sensors 111A, 111B. As described later, in the present embodiment, such an operation is used for calibrating the sensor array 111 and detecting a self-luminous object.

The control unit 200 comprises a communication interface 210, a processing circuit 220 and a memory 230. The communication interface 210 receives an event signal transmitted from the processing circuit 112 of the vision sensor 110 and outputs the event signal to the processing circuit 220. Further, the communication interface 210 transmits the control signal generated by the processing circuit 220 to the actuator 120. The processing circuit 220 operates according to programs stored in the memory 230 and processes received event signals. For example, the processing circuit 220 generates images that map the positions where the luminance changes occur in time series based on the event signals and temporarily or continuously stores the images in the memory 230 or further transmits the images to another device via the communication interface 210. Further, the processing circuit 220 generates respective control signals for driving the actuator 120 and the shutter 130.

Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a first example of the operation of the sensor module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, first, a control signal generated by the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 is transmitted to the actuator 120 (S101). When the actuator 120 that has received the control signal is driven (S102), the sensor array 111 is displaced in a predetermined direction, and event signals generated by the sensors 111A,111B … that correspond to the edges of all objects in principle are transmitted from the vision sensor 110 to the control unit 200 (S103). The processing circuit 220 detects an object from the received event signal (S104). As described above, at this time, the object can be detected regardless of whether the object is actually moving. The processing circuit 220 may perform processes from transmitting a control signal to the actuator 120(S101), to receiving an event signal (S103), and capturing environmental information based on the event signal (S104) as a series of processes. For example, the processing circuit 220 may treat an event signal received within a predetermined period of time from the transmission of the control signal to the actuator 120(S101) separately from an event signal received at a time (as an event signal indicating environmental information).

Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of the operation of the sensor module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, first, in a state where the shutter 130 is opened, a control signal generated by the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 is transmitted to the shutter 130 (S111). By closing the shutter 130 that has received the control signal (S112), the entire angle of view of the sensor array 111 is shielded, and the intensity of light incident on all the sensors 111A, 111B. Therefore, after the event signal indicating the decrease in brightness due to the light being blocked is transmitted from the vision sensor 110 to the control unit 200(S113), the reception of the event signal should not be received in principle. However, for example, in the case where the sensor is defective or noise is detected as a change in luminance due to an improper setting of a threshold value that generates a change in luminance of the event signal in the sensor, the event signal may be generated while the shutter 130 shields the angle of view of the sensor array 111. Thus, in the control unit 200, the processing circuit 220 keeps the shutter 130 closed for a predetermined period of time, and monitors an event signal received while the shutter 130 shields the angle of view of the sensor array 111. In the case where an event signal is received within the time period (S114), the processing circuit 220 calibrates the vision sensor 110 based on the received event signal (S115). Specifically, the processing circuit 220 identifies the sensor that has generated the event signal as a defective pixel (light emitting point), or adjusts a threshold value of a luminance change in the sensor for generating the event signal.

Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a third example of the operation of the sensor module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, first, in the shutter 130 closed state, a control signal generated by the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 is transmitted to the shutter 130 (S121). When the shutter 130 having received the control signal is opened (S122), the entire angle of view of the sensor array 111 is opened, and an event signal indicating that the brightness has increased in principle in all the sensors 111A,111B … is transmitted from the vision sensor 110 to the control unit 200 (S123). Thereafter, the control signal generated by the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 is again transmitted to the shutter 130(S125), and when the shutter 130 is closed (S126), so that the entire angle of view of the sensor array 111 is shielded, an event signal indicating a decrease in brightness in all the sensors 111A,111B … is transmitted from the vision sensor 110 to the control unit 200 (S127). In this way, the control unit 200 transmits a control signal for repeating the shielding and opening of the angle of view of the sensor array 111 to the shutter 130, and simultaneously receives an event signal generated by the vision sensor 110, particularly in the period from the opening to the shielding of the angle of view.

Here, if the time period t1 from the opening (S122) to the shielding (S126) view angle by the shutter 130 is short (specifically, 300 milliseconds or less, for example), the object hardly moves, and thus an event signal indicating the movement of the object should not be received. As an exception, in the case where the blinking cycle of the light sources in self-luminous objects such as illumination lamps or displays is shorter than the time period t1, event signals indicating blinking of these objects are received (S124). Accordingly, by making the time period t1 (i.e., the period of repeatedly shielding and opening the viewing angle) longer than the blinking period of the light source included in the self-luminous object (while keeping the time period t1 short as described above), the control unit 200 can identify the self-luminous object based on the received event signal (S128).

In the first embodiment of the present invention as described above, since the actuator 120 displaces the sensor array 111, an event is forcibly generated in the vision sensor 110, and information on, for example, the surrounding environment including a stationary object can be obtained. Further, in the present embodiment, since the shutter 130 shields the entire angle of view of the sensor array 111, the sensor array 111 can be calibrated. Further, by repeatedly opening and closing the shutter 130 at a predetermined cycle, a self-luminous object such as an illumination lamp or a display can be detected.

Note that, in the above example, the sensor module 100 includes both the actuator 120 and the shutter 130, but since these functions are independent of each other, the actuator 120 or the shutter 130 may be included in the sensor module 100. Further, although in the above examples, the control unit 200 is shown and described separately from the sensor module 100, the control unit 200 may be included in the sensor module 100. In this case, the processing circuit 112 of the sensor module 100 and the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 may be configured separately or may be shared.

(second embodiment)

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic apparatus including a sensor module according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the electronic apparatus 20 includes a sensor module 300, a control unit 200, and a movable support mechanism 400.

The sensor module 300 includes an event-driven vision sensor 110 and a shutter 130 similar to those in the first embodiment. The sensor module 300 is supported by a movable support mechanism 400 including frames 410A, 410B, and 410C and actuators 420A and 420B. In the illustrated example, the actuators 420A and 420B are rotary actuators driven according to a control signal sent from the control unit 200. Actuator 420A causes a predetermined angular rotational displacement between frames 410A and 410B in accordance with the control signal, and actuator 420B similarly causes a predetermined angular rotational displacement between frames 410B and 410C. Thus, the actuators 420A and 420B displace the sensor module 300 including the vision sensor 110.

Also in the present embodiment, for example, by using the actuator 420B in the same manner as the actuator 120 of the first embodiment to force an event in the vision sensor 110, information on, for example, the surrounding environment including a stationary object can be obtained. In this case, for example, the actuator 420B may be understood as being included in the sensor module 300. In addition, in the present embodiment, as in the example described below, the control unit 200 may reflect the correction value in the control signals of the actuators 420A and 420B based on the event signal generated by the vision sensor 110 when the actuators 420A and 420B displace the sensor module 300.

Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a first example of the operation of the sensor module according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, first, a control signal generated by the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 is transmitted to one or both of the actuators 420A and 420B (S131). When the actuators 420A and 420B are driven according to the control signal (S132), the sensor module 300 is displaced, and the positional relationship between the sensors 111A, 111B. At this time, the event signal generated by the sensors 111A, 111B. In the control unit 200, the processing circuit 220 measures a delay period d1 from the transmission of the control signal to the actuators 420A and 420B (S131) to the reception of the event signal (S133), and calibrates the actuators 420A and 420B based on the delay period d1 (S134). Specifically, the processing circuit 220 determines a correction value of the control signal according to the delay period d1, and the determined correction value is reflected in the control signal subsequently generated by the processing circuit.

In the above example, if a control signal is sent to either of actuators 420A or 420B, for example, either actuator 420A or 420B may be calibrated independently. Further, if control signals are sent to both actuators 420A and 420B, the composite system including actuators 420A and 420B may be calibrated. For example, when the control unit 200 corrects the parameter of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control performed in a case where it is desired that the actuators 420A and 420B realize displacement in a specific pattern, the correction value of the control signal determined according to the delay time period d1 is used.

Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of the operation of the sensor module according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, similar to the example illustrated in fig. 6 above, a control signal is sent (S131), and the actuators 420A and 420B that receive the control signal drive to cause a rotational displacement in the vision sensor 110 (S132). Here, for example, in the case where the actuators 420A and 420B are worn, the rotational displacement of the visual sensor 110 momentarily becomes unstable, and vibration occurs. In this case, event signals generated by the sensors 111A,111B,. and the object due to changes in the positional relationship between the sensors 111A,111B,. and the object are transmitted from the vision sensor 110 to the control unit 200 at a plurality of times (S133-1 and S133-2). The processing circuit 220 measures delay time periods d1 and d2 from transmitting the control signal (S131) to the actuators 420A and 420B to receiving the event signal at a plurality of timings (S133-1 and S133-2), respectively. Accordingly, the processing circuit 220 measures the elapsed time period d2-d1 from the start of reception (S133-1) to the end of reception (S133-2) of the event signal. The processing circuit 220 determines a correction value from the elapsed time periods d2-d1, and the determined correction value is reflected in a control signal subsequently generated by the processing circuit. Specifically, the processing circuit 220 sets a flag indicating wear of the actuators 420A and 420B if the elapsed time periods d2-d1 exceed a threshold. In this case, the processing circuit 220 may set a value, such as an operating torque, different from that of the other actuators for the actuators 420A and 420B that have generated wear.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a processing circuit of the control unit in the case of performing motion prediction in the second embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 includes, for example, a drive pattern generating section 221, a control signal generating section 222, an event signal analyzing section 223, an error calculating section 224, and a motion predicting section 225 as functions realized by operating according to a program stored in the memory 230. The driving pattern generating section 221 generates driving patterns for the actuators 420A and 420B. Here, the driving mode may be predetermined by, for example, a program stored in the memory 230, or determined based on measurement values of other sensors such as an acceleration sensor included in the electronic device 20. The control signal generating section 222 generates control signals for the actuators 420A and 420B according to the driving pattern generated by the driving pattern generating section 221.

When the actuators 420A and 420B are driven according to the control signal generated by the control signal generating part 222, an event signal is transmitted from the vision sensor 110 to the control unit 200. In the processing circuit 220, the event signal analyzing section 223 performs reverse calculation of the displacement of the sensor module 300 from the received event signal. Specifically, for example, the event signal analysis section 223 performs inverse calculation of the motion vector of the vision sensor 110 from the motion vector of the object obtained by analyzing the event signal. The event signal analyzing section 223 supplies information including the displacement of the sensor module 300 obtained by the inverse calculation to the error calculating section 224. The error calculation section 224 calculates the error characteristics of the actuators 420A and 420B from the difference between the displacement of the sensor module 300 obtained by the inverse calculation and the drive pattern produced by the drive pattern generation section 221 while taking into account the delay time period d1 of the operation of the actuators 420A and 420B, for example, as specified by the example described above with reference to fig. 6. For example, the error characteristics may be normalized for each type of motion (specifically, translation and rotation in each axial direction) of actuators 420A and 420B for storage in memory 230.

After that, in the case where the drive pattern generation section 221 generates a new drive pattern for the actuators 420A and 420B, the control signal generation section 222 inputs the generated control signal to the motion prediction section 225 before outputting the control signal. The motion prediction section 225 predicts the motion of the actuators 420A and 420B with respect to the input control signal based on the error characteristics of the actuators 420A and 420B calculated by the error calculation section 224. The control signal generating section 222 corrects the control signal so that the difference between the motion predicted by the motion predicting section 225 and the drive pattern generated by the drive pattern generating section 221 becomes small. Further, the control signal generating portion 222 inputs the corrected control signal to the motion predicting portion 225 again, and the motion predicting portion 225 predicts the motions of the actuators 420A and 420B again with respect to the control signal corrected based on the error characteristics, and then the control signal generating portion 222 may correct the control signal again so that the difference between the motion predicted again and the driving mode becomes small.

In the second embodiment of the present invention as described above, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment described above, the processing circuit 220 of the control unit 200 can calibrate the delay amounts of the actuators 420A and 420B by measuring the delay time periods d1 and d2 from the transmission of the control signals to the actuators 420A and 420B to the reception of the event signals, and detect vibrations due to the wear of the internal components of the actuators 420A and 420B. Further, in the present embodiment, the processing circuit 220 implements the functions of the error calculation section 224 and the motion prediction section 225 so as to correct the control signals in consideration of errors generated in the motions of the actuators 420A and 420B, and can operate the actuators 420A and 420B more accurately according to the intended driving mode.

Note that, in the above-described example, the calibration of the delay amount of the actuators 420A and 420B, the detection of the vibration, and the correction of the control signal are described in the same embodiment, but since these operations may be performed independently of each other, a part thereof may be implemented in the electronic device 20 or the sensor module 300, and the remaining part may not be implemented in the electronic device 20 or the sensor module 300. Further, in the above example, the vision sensor 110 is described as being capable of forcing an event similarly to the first embodiment, but this function is not essential. Since the shutter 130 is also unnecessary, in the present embodiment, the vision sensor 110 does not necessarily include the shutter 130.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs can put various modified examples or modified examples within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and naturally it should be understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[ list of reference symbols ]

10, 20.. electronic device, 100, 300.. sensor module, 110.. vision sensor, 111.. sensor array, 111A, 111B.. sensor, 112.. processing circuit, 120.. actuator, 130.. shutter, 200.. control unit, 210.. communication interface, 220.. processing circuit, 221.. drive pattern generation portion, 222.. control signal generation portion, 223.. event signal analysis portion, 224.. error calculation portion, 225.. motion prediction portion, 230.. memory, 300.. sensor module, 400.. movable support mechanism, 410A, 410B, 410c.. frame, 420A, 420B.. actuator