Pixel based random access image sensor array for real-time IBR

In the field of computer graphics, a new method called Image-Based Rendering (IBR) has been researched. With this method, 3D arbitrary-view images can be synthesized from array of input images. However, most of the current research is concentrated on static scenes because of the difficulty of handling a large amount of multiple video inputs. The authors adopt a random access image sensor for the camera array. In our system, each sensor outputs only the pixels that are externally selected, so that the total readout data from the camera array is reduced to that necessary and sufficient for the rendering. We designed and implemented the pixel based random access image sensor with 0.8 μm CMOS technology. We implemented a camera array system with sixteen of the prototype devices. In this paper, we present our design of the random access CMOS image sensors and the construction of the camera array system. Evaluation of the prototype sensor and the results of the arbitrary-view synthesis are also described.