Foveated Dynamic Range of the Pyramidal CMOS Image Sensors

A novel intrascene dynamic range (DR) enhancement technique is proposed for pyramidal CMOS image sensors. The classic CMOS imager 1-D row sampling is replaced by a 2-D ring sampling, the vertical output buses by radial diagonal buses, and the raster scan with a bouncing scan. The result is a foveated DR enhancement mimicking biological vision. Experimental results validate the foveated DR enhancement of more than 50 dB on top of the imager intrinsic DR of 56.6 dB. The 32-ring (64 times 64 pixels) pyramidal CMOS imager is fabricated with dual-voltage (1.8 V, 3.3 V) standard 0.18- CMOS technology.