Hermetically sealed camera with a graphical processing unit (gpu)

Abstract

The present application is directed to an apparatus including a hermetically sealed housing. The hermetically sealed housing includes an external heat sink integrated with the hermetically sealed housing as a single unit. the external heat sink includes protrusions extending up to an entire length of a surface of the hermetically sealed housing. The apparatus also includes a camera disposed within the hermetically sealed housing. The camera includes a lens and a motor that physically adjusts the lens. The apparatus also includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) coupled to the camera. The GPU is configured to process image information of an image captured by the camera.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a hermetically sealed housing including an external heat sink integrated with the hermetically sealed housing as a single unit, the external heat sink including protrusions extending up to an entire length of a surface of the hermetically sealed housing;   a camera disposed within the hermetically sealed housing, the camera including a lens and a motor that physically adjusts the lens; and   a graphics processing unit (GPU) coupled to the camera and configured to process image information of an image captured by the camera.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein
 the GPU is located within the hermetically sealed housing, and   the GPU is disposed adjacent to the external heat sink.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the GPU is configured to apply a neural network to recognize patterns of the image information. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the external heat sink absorbs heat generated by the GPU. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) coupled to the GPU,   wherein the ASIC pre-processes the image information of the image captured by the camera.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the ASIC pre-processes the image information based on one or more of movement of an object, detection of the object, identification of the object, optical flow, and stereo image processing. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the GPU and the ASIC are part of a system-on module (SOM). 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the SOM further comprises one or more of:
 a communication circuit;   an input/output (I/O) circuit;   a lens driver circuit;   a global positioning system (GPS) circuit;   an audio input circuit; and   a satellite communication circuit.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 another camera disposed within the hermetically sealed housing,   wherein the GPU processes image information captured by the other camera.   
     
     
         10 . A camera system comprising:
 a hermetically sealed housing comprising an external heat sink integrated therewith as a single unit, the external heat sink extending an entire length of a surface of the hermetically sealed housing;   a plurality of cameras disposed within the hermetically sealed housing; and   a system-on-module (SOM) coupled to the plurality of cameras, the SOM including an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) configured to pre-process image information captured by one or more of the plurality of cameras.   
     
     
         11 . The camera system of  claim 10 , wherein the SOM further comprises a graphics processing unit (GPU) configured to process the pre-process image information. 
     
     
         12 . The camera system of  claim 11 , wherein the GPU is configured to apply a neural network to recognize patterns of the image information. 
     
     
         13 . The camera system of  claim 10 , wherein the ASIC pre-processes the image information based on one or more of movement of an object, detection of the object, identification of the object, optical flow, and stereo image processing. 
     
     
         14 . The camera system of  claim 10 , wherein the SOM further comprises one or more of:
 a wireless communication circuit releasably coupled to the SOM;   a wired communication circuit releasably coupled to the SOM;   an input/output (I/O) circuit releasably coupled to the SOM;   a lens driver circuit releasably coupled to the SOM;   a global positioning system (GPS) circuit releasably coupled to the SOM;   an audio input circuit releasably coupled to the SOM; and   a satellite communication circuit releasably coupled to the SOM.   
     
     
         15 . The camera system of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of cameras comprises a motor configured to adjust a characteristic of a respective lens, the characteristic including one or more of focus, zoom, aperture and infrared cut filter. 
     
     
         16 . The camera system of  claim 11 , wherein the GPU is disposed adjacent to the external heat sink. 
     
     
         17 . The camera system of  claim 10 , wherein the hermetically sealed housing is substantially cylindrical. 
     
     
         18 . A method for processing image information comprising:
 capturing an image via a camera disposed in a hermetically sealed housing, the hermetically sealed housing including an external heat sink integrated therewith and extending an entire length of a surface of the hermetically sealed housing; and   processing the captured image via a graphics processing unit (GPU) disposed in the hermetically sealed housing; and   outputting the processed, captured image.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the processing step includes:
 recognizing, via a neural network, patterns in information of the captured image.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the outputting step includes wirelessly transmitting, in real-time over a network, the processed image information via communications circuitry disposed in the hermetically sealed housing.