Pix2HDR -- A pixel-wise acquisition and deep learning-based synthesis
  approach for high-speed HDR videos
Caixin Wang Jie Zhang Matthew A. Wilson Ralph Etienne-Cummings
Accurately capturing dynamic scenes with wide-ranging motion and light
intensity is crucial for many vision applications. However, acquiring
high-speed high dynamic range (HDR) video is challenging because the camera's
frame rate restricts its dynamic range. Existing methods sacrifice speed to
acquire multi-exposure frames. Yet, misaligned motion in these frames can still
pose complications for HDR fusion algorithms, resulting in artifacts. Instead
of frame-based exposures, we sample the videos using individual pixels at
varying exposures and phase offsets. Implemented on a pixel-wise programmable
image sensor, our sampling pattern simultaneously captures fast motion at a
high dynamic range. We then transform pixel-wise outputs into an HDR video
using end-to-end learned weights from deep neural networks, achieving high
spatiotemporal resolution with minimized motion blurring. We demonstrate
aliasing-free HDR video acquisition at 1000 FPS, resolving fast motion under
low-light conditions and against bright backgrounds - both challenging
conditions for conventional cameras. By combining the versatility of pixel-wise
sampling patterns with the strength of deep neural networks at decoding complex
scenes, our method greatly enhances the vision system's adaptability and
performance in dynamic conditions.