Photoarray systems with local sensing

Abstract

Embodiments of a photoarray system are provided. In one embodiment, a photoarray system includes a control system; a lixel array comprising a plurality of lixels each comprising at least one radiation source that is individually controllable by the control system to emit radiation; and a sensor array comprising a plurality of sensor modules distributed amongst the plurality of radiation sources, each of the sensor modules configured to communicate respective local readings to the control system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A photoarray system comprising:
 a control system;   a lixel array comprising a plurality of lixels each comprising at least one radiation source that is individually controllable by the control system to emit radiation; and   a sensor array comprising a plurality of sensor modules distributed amongst the plurality of radiation sources, each of the sensor modules configured to communicate respective local readings to the control system.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system comprises:
 a main control module incorporating a power source; and   a plurality of commlinks each in communication with the main control module, each of the commlinks further in communication with a respective subset of the plurality of lixels.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the main control module is configured to provide power from the power source to each of the commlinks, wherein each of the commlinks further distributes received power amongst its respective subset of the plurality of lixels. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the commlinks is further in communication with a respective subset of the plurality of sensor modules. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the sensor modules communicates respective local readings to the control system in response to a request from the control system. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the sensor modules communicates local temperature readings to the control system. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the radiation sources is supported on a respective platform. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein each platform supports only one radiation source. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein each platform supports at least two radiation sources. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least two radiation sources emit radiation of different wavelengths. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein each platform comprises a circuit board. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein each circuit board further supports a microcontroller in electrical communication with both the control system and the one or more radiation sources supported by the circuit board. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein each circuit board further supports one or more of the sensor modules, and each sensor module is in communication with the supported microcontroller. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each sensor module conducts one or more local readings of:
 temperature, brightness, humidity, physical orientation, acceleration, ambient light, magnetic field, proximity, audio levels, video, image and colour.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to automatically modify actuation of one or more individual radiation sources in response to receipt of the local readings. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the control system is configured to automatically reduce the radiation output of one or more individual radiation sources in response to receipt of one or more local temperature readings. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system comprises:
 a main control module incorporating a power source and in direct communication with each of the plurality of lixels.   
     
     
         18 . A lixel array for a photoarray system having a control system, the lixel array comprising:
 a plurality of lixels, each lixel comprising:
 a platform; 
 at least one radiation source supported on the platform; 
 processing structure supported on the platform and configured to selectively actuate the at least one radiation source in response to instructions from the control system; and 
 a temperature sensor supported on the platform and configured to provide local temperature readings to the processing structure for provision to the control system. 
   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein each temperature sensor is a thermistor. 
     
     
         20 . A photoarray system comprising:
 a lixel array comprising a plurality of lixels each comprising at least one radiation source and at least one local sensor; and   a control system in communication with each of the lixels and operable to individually control emission of radiation from each radiation source based at least on readings of the at least one local sensor.