Patent ID: 7653214

Claim:
An accelerometer comprising: a target; an image collection system configured to capture image information related to the target; a tracking engine configured to process the image information to track movement of the target relative to the image collection system in the x, y, and z directions and to output movement information in the x, y, and z directions; and conversion logic configured to generate acceleration data, in the x, y, and z directions, which is related to an object in response to the movement information; wherein the image collection system further comprises: a light source configured to illuminate the target; and an image sensor configured to capture image information related to the target in response to light that reflects off the illuminated target, wherein the image sensor comprises an array of distinct photodetectors, wherein each distinct photodetector generates light intensity information and wherein the image sensor captures the image information as image frames and wherein the tracking engine is configured to correlate common features in the image frames to determine the magnitude of movement of the common features.