Camera and method for acquiring image data

US12182973B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• SICK AG · DE

Inventors

• Romain MÜLLER · Waldkirch, DE
• Hannes Ruf · Waldkirch, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 20, 2022
• Grant date: Dec 31, 2024
• Expiry date: Aug 29, 2043

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04N25/701
• WIPO field: Audio-visual technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A camera includes an image sensor having a first recording channel of a first sensitivity for recording first image data including first pixels and a second recording channel of a second sensitivity lower than the first sensitivity for recording second image data including second pixels. The first pixels and second pixels are associated with one another by capturing a same object area. A control and evaluation unit processing the image data is configured to suppress noise effects in the second image data using a noise suppression filter that assigns a new value to a respective considered second pixel based on second pixels in a neighborhood of the considered second pixel. The noise suppression filter takes the second pixels in the neighborhood into account with a weighting that depends on how similar first pixels associated with the second pixels are to the associated first pixel of the respective considered second pixel.