Hexagonal sensor with imbedded analog image processing for pattern recognition

The authors present a multimodule focal plane processing sensor architecture which provides high-resolution (up to 512 /spl times/ 512 pixels) multiscale real-time analog edge extraction for robot vision. The hexagonal CMOS sensor uses a multiport addressing architecture of the pixel array to apply external multiscale analog spatial convolution followed by edge detection. The sensor architecture and its peripheral analog filtering modules are described, and results obtained from a 256 /spl times/ 256 prototype are presented. This analog satellite processing approach may be extended to various types of computational sensors, including a 3-D rangefinder, motion sensors, and tactile perception devices.