A single chip which visually measures the Yaw, Pitch and Roll (YPR) and images the direction of travel of a Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MUAV) is described. The YPR measurement modules, constructed using an elaborated Reichardt model of the fly's motion detection system, are used to measure the drift rate of features in the field of view. A variable acuity superpixellation imager (VASI), constructed using an active pixel sensor (APS) with networked integration capacitors, allows multiple high resolution foveae to be interspersed in a low resolution image of the environment. The 49 sq. mm chip, containing twelve 90-pixel linear arrays for the YPR modules and a 128/spl times/128 VASI array, is fabricated in a 0.5 /spl mu/m 2P3M CMOS process. Measured results indicate that YPR rates of over 300 pixels/second and VASI images ranging from 1/spl times/1 to 128/spl times/128, with multiple, dynamically variable foveae, can be obtained with this chip. It is intended to be used to control and navigate a MUAV, but it can also be used for visual tracking and many other "multimode" imaging operations.
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