Patent ID: 8736924

Claim:
An imaging system comprising: a time-delay-and-integrate (TDI) image sensor comprising (i) a plurality of integrating CCDs (ICCDs), arranged in parallel, that accumulate photocharge in response to exposure to light, (ii) electrically coupled to the plurality of ICCDs, a readout CCD (RCCD) for receiving photocharge from the plurality of ICCDs, and (iii) electrically coupled to the RCCD, readout circuitry for converting charge received from the RCCD into voltage; an optical system for receiving light from a scene to be imaged and projecting it on the plurality of ICCDs; a leading sensor for receiving the light projected from the optical system prior to projection thereof on the plurality of ICCDs, thereby capturing a leading image of the scene; and a control system for controlling operation of the TDI image sensor based at least in part on at least a portion of the leading image.