RAW Camera Peripheral for Handheld Mobile Unit

Abstract

A handheld imaging device is described to provide high quality RAW image data to a smartphone, or similar handheld imaging device. The imaging device can have a larger dimension, particularly with regard to the thickness of the device, thus overcoming some of the physical limitations to providing high quality optics and image sensing within the thin form factor of a modern smartphone. As the device is only connected when capturing images the smartphone form factor is not altered. The device does not replicate the high-end image processing functionality of a smartphone, but instead transfers RAW images to the smartphone for high-end image processing & enhancement on the smartphone CPU/GPU. Thus it can be manufactured at lower cost than a dedicated camera with equivalent capabilities by taking advantage of the sophisticated image processing capabilities of today's smartphones.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A handheld image capture peripheral, comprising:
 a lens and/or a lens mount configured to attach a lens;   an optical sensor configured to capture RAW image data; and   an I/O interface configured to transmit said RAW image data out of the peripheral, said RAW image data not being demosaiced prior to said transmission.   
     
     
         22 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 21 , wherein said I/O interface is configured to receive commands from outside of the peripheral, and said sensor is configured to capture said RAW image data in at least partial dependence on said commands. 
     
     
         23 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 22 , wherein said outside commands comprise one or more of a physical aperture setting and a physical focus setting, and said sensor and said lens are configured to capture said RAW image data in at least partial dependence on said settings. 
     
     
         24 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 21 , further comprising an attachment interface configured to securely and detachably hold a handheld mobile processing unit. 
     
     
         25 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 21 , wherein said RAW image data corresponds to one or more image frames. 
     
     
         26 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 21 , wherein said sensor has an optically sensitive surface of at least 225 mm 2 . 
     
     
         27 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 21 , further comprising an image signal processor; wherein said RAW image data comprises a RAW video image data stream; wherein said image signal processor reduces the resolution of said RAW video image data stream to a lower resolution prior to said transmission; and wherein, when a capture-image command is received, said image signal processor is configured to cause said I/O interface to transmit out of the peripheral said one or more image frames of said RAW image data at a higher resolution. 
     
     
         28 . A handheld image capture peripheral, comprising:
 a lens and/or a lens mount configured to attach a lens;   an optical sensor configured to capture RAW image data, using said lens or an attached lens, in at least partial dependence on one or more image acquisition parameters comprising one or more of focus, exposure and zoom settings; and   an I/O interface configured to transmit out of the peripheral said RAW image data with image metadata that describes said RAW image data and includes at least said image acquisition parameters.   
     
     
         29 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 28 , further comprising an image signal processor, wherein said image metadata is calculated in at least partial dependence on said RAW image data by said image signal processor and comprises one or more of: number and locations of potential face regions, a summed area table, integral projection vectors, a foreground/background map, and a sharpness/contrast map. 
     
     
         30 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 28 , wherein said I/O interface comprises a local high-speed device-to-device communications port. 
     
     
         31 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 28 , wherein said I/O interface comprises a user interface enabling selection of said image acquisition parameters. 
     
     
         32 . The peripheral of  claim 28 , wherein said optical sensor is configured to capture said RAW image data in response to a capture-image command received by said I/O interface from a device physically distinct from the peripheral, and wherein said I/O interface is configured to digitally transmit said RAW image data to the physically distinct device. 
     
     
         33 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 32 , wherein said capture-image command comprises one or more of said image acquisition parameters. 
     
     
         34 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 28 , wherein said I/O interface is configured to transmit said RAW image data to a smartphone, and said RAW image data is not demosaiced prior to said transmission. 
     
     
         35 . A handheld image capture peripheral, comprising:
 a lens and/or a lens mount configured to attach a lens;   an optical sensor configured to capture RAW image data;   an image signal processor configured to pre-process said RAW image data; and   an I/O interface configured to transmit out of said peripheral said pre-processed RAW image data,   wherein said pre-processing comprises one or more of: optical black compensation, pixel defect compensation, fixed pattern noise compensation, lens shading compensation, gains and offsets adjustment, statistics generation and storage, Bayer scaling, and image resizing.   
     
     
         36 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 35 , wherein said RAW image data is not demosaiced prior to said transmission. 
     
     
         37 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 35 , wherein said I/O interface is configured to receive commands from a device physically distinct from the peripheral, said sensor is configured to capture said RAW image data in at least partial dependence on said commands, and said image signal processor is configured to perform said pre-processing in at least partial dependence on said commands. 
     
     
         38 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 37 , wherein said commands comprise one or more of a physical aperture setting and a physical focus setting. 
     
     
         39 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 35 , wherein said I/O interface is configured to digitally transmit said pre-processed RAW image data to a smartphone. 
     
     
         40 . The handheld peripheral of  claim 35 , further comprising an image signal processor; wherein said RAW image data comprises a RAW video image data stream; wherein said image signal processor reduces the resolution of said RAW video image data stream to a lower resolution prior to said transmission; and wherein, when a capture-image command is received, said image signal processor is configured to cause said I/O interface to transmit out of the peripheral said one or more image frames of said RAW image data at a higher resolution. 
     
     
         41 - 100 . (canceled)