First, some background. To the best of my knowledge single pixel camera works as follows:

The lens focuses light onto an array of aimable mirrors. A pseudo-random subset of these mirrors bounce their light onto a single light sensor. The light sensor measures the sum of brightnesses of the light reflected from the mirrors. After numerous samples, an algorithm, called compressed sensing, is used to reconstruct a probable set of light levels reaching each separate mirror, and thus produce a picture.

This idea eliminates the array of mirrors, and has only a lens, a light sensor, and a pair of vibrators, which torque the camera (or maybe just the lens?) left and right and up and down, in a pseduo-random manner.

Each sample, instead of being the sum of light levels of a scattered set of points, is the sum (differential?) of light levels along an arc.

It should then be possible to use compressed sensing with these samples to reconstruct brightnesses through the range of angles (field of view?) across which the camera vibrated, and thus produce a picture.
-- goldbb, Mar 08 2012

Nipkow disk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipkow_disk
[normzone, Mar 08 2012]

//The lens focuses light onto an array of aimable mirrors//
Read this as "amiable"
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 08 2012


Would it not be easier to use a Nipkow disk?
-- mitxela, Mar 08 2012


//thermal noise levels //

Noise in digital camera sensors imposes a fundamental limit on their performance, and leads to compromises against sensitivity.

Fortunately, MaxCo. is developing a sensor which, instead of recording the light from a scene, instead records the dark. This allows a far simpler and more efficient design.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 14 2012



random, halfbakery