CMOS implementation of pixel-wise coded exposure imaging for insect-based sensor node

Insect based Mobile Wireless Sensor Nodes (MWSN) has gained interests from the research community in recent year. These small biological entities have excellent maneuverability and can enter extreme areas not accessible to human. In order not to hinder the flight of the insect, the image sensors carried by these small insects must be light, low power, high speed and is capable of providing high quality images for different scene conditions and flight speed. In this paper, we present an implementation of pixel-wise coded exposure image sensor, developed based on the theory of Compressed Sensing (CS). This architecture can provide up to 18× more frame rate with both high spatial and temporal resolution compared to a traditional image sensor with the same readout speed. Additionally, through adaptive control of the pixel exposure duration, this architecture can be made to provide optimal image quality under all conditions. The test pixel array consumes 46 μW at 100 fps.