ABSTRACT:Multispectral imaging is a widely used remote sensing technique, whose applications range from agriculture to environmental monitoring, from food quality check to cultural heritage diagnostic. A variety of multispectral imaging sensors are available on the market, many of them designed to be mounted on different platform, especially small drones. This work focuses on the geometric and radiometric characterization of a brand-new, lightweight, low-cost multispectral camera, called MAIA. The MAIA camera is equipped with nine sensors, allowing for the acquisition of images in the visible and near infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Two versions are available, characterised by different set of band-pass filters, inspired by the sensors mounted on the WorlView-2 and Sentinel2 satellites, respectively. The camera details and the developed procedures for the geometric calibrations and radiometric correction are presented in the paper.

A miniaturized color camera module for disposable endoscopic applications and minimally invasive surgery has been designed and developed. The module consists of a Complementary Metal Oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, miniaturized optics, a Light Emitting Diode (LED)-based illuminator and a connector on a single substrate. The compact size (5.0 mm × 8.2 mm × 7.0 mm), high-efficiency illumination, VGA resolution and good image quality allow it to be used in endoluminal procedures. A demonstration system has been built and tested in vivo. The module is connected through a 1.5-m long cable to a receiver board, which transfers the data stream to a Personal Computer (PC). A dedicated software controls the hardware setting and displays the image, after having performed various color and image processing tasks.

A custom CMOS image sensor designed for low power endoluminal applications is presented. The fabricated chip includes a 320 × 240 pixel array, a complete read-out channel, a 10-bit ADC converter, a series of DACs for internal references and digital blocks for chip control. The complete functionality of the chip is guaranteed through 7 signal pins, used for the I 2 C-like input and LVDS output interfaces. Prototypes were produced using UMC 0.18 m-CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) technology for both monochrome and colour-RGB versions. Due to its high sensitivity, a pinned photodiode was implemented. The imager was electrically and optically characterized and preliminary ex-vivo tests were performed. Characterization results show state-of-the-art performance in terms of power consumption (<40 mW for the core), which is less than half compared to off-the-shelf sensors, and light sensitivity (0.1 lux@555 nm for the monochrome imager), which makes sensor performance comparable to CCD technology performance for single chip endoluminal applications.

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A custom CMOS image sensor for capsular endoscopy is presented. The complete functionality of the chip is guaranteed through seven signal pins, used for the I 2 C like input and the LVDS output interfaces. Prototypes have been produced in the UMC 0.18µm-CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) technology both in the monochrome and colour-RGB versions. The imager has been electrically and optically characterized and ex-vivo images have been acquired and evaluated. The results of the characterization show state of the art performance in terms of power consumption (<40mW) and light sensitivity (0.1 lux@555nm for the monochrome imager), comparable to CCD technology.

A CMOS image sensor with programmable dynamic range linear-logarithmic response through tunable transition point and fixed pattern noise correction is presented. Each 9.4x9.4μm 2 pixel cell integrates a 5T active pixel structure with a hard reset and an active load for the high light logarithmic behavior. A chip with a 100x100 pixel array and 12-bit digital output has been fabricated in a 0.35um, 3.3V standard CMOS technology. The dynamic range of the sensor can be changed from 45dB to over 120dB with decreasing pixel resolution, the temporal noise is lower than 0.22% over the full range and the fixed patter of 0.83% (1.39%) in the linear (logarithmic) region.

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The biomedical environment is one of the most recent and interesting application fields for CMOS image sensors. Low power consumption, high sensitivity and a simple interface are the main required features; nevertheless high dynamic range can be considered one of the more interesting and less investigated aspects. High Dynamic range is one of the main research fields NeuriCam has been involved in since its incipit. This work is an excursus of NeuriCam's approaches to this topic.