Profile

Don Dansereau

Bio: Dr Donald Dansereau leads the Robotic Imaging Lab at the University of Sydney. His work explores how computational imaging can help robots see and do, encompassing the design, fabrication, and deployment of new imaging technologies. Don authored the Light Field Toolbox for Matlab and his industry experience includes physics engines for video games, computer vision for microchip packaging, and chip design for automated electronics testing. His industry collaborators have included Intel Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and start-up companies EPI Imaging LLC, Integral Scopes, and most recently Project ARIA, making a medical prosthetic for the visually impaired. His collaborations have helped address the challenges of designing, deploying, and maintaining novel sensing payloads in demanding commercial applications.

In 2004 he completed an MSc at the University Calgary where he received the Governor General’s Gold Medal for his pioneering work in light field processing. In 2014 he completed a PhD on underwater robotic vision at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics, followed by postdoctoral appointments at the Queensland University of Technology and Stanford University.

Research Expertise: Don’s work focuses on novel camera and imaging system design, characterisation, and interpretation to allow robots to see in news ways, more robustly, and in previously prohibitive conditions. Including:

  • Computational imaging: joint design of optics and algorithms to break camera trade-offs and measure new forms of visual information; bespoke hyperspectral, event, time of flight, and plenoptic camera systems
  • Low-level robotic vision: algorithms for making sense of light specifically for robotic applications
  • Novel camera calibration: how to effectively calibrate, rectify, and interpret imagery from a range of emerging imaging technologies
  • Novel representations: spherical light fields, radiance fields, and related plenoptic representations for high-fidelity visual sensing and reconstruction
  • Light field image processing: exploiting the rich information captured by this powerful imaging technology to deliver low-power, low-latency, hardware-friendly robotic imaging and perception

Don also works within Sydney Uni’s Nano Institute on the fabrication and integration of custom optical elements with the goal of enabling new kinds of cameras to see in challenging conditions such as poor water quality or rain. This involves the fabrication of micron-scale diffractive and refractive custom optics as well as dicing and mounting of micro-optics for integration into imaging systems.

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