  The Array Camera for Optical to Near-IR Spectrophotometry, or ARCONS, is a
camera based on Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs), a new
technology that has the potential for broad application in astronomy. Using an
array of MKIDs, the instrument is able to produce time-resolved imaging and
low-resolution spectroscopy constructed from detections of individual photons.
The arrival time and energy of each photon are recorded in a manner similar to
X-ray calorimetry, but at higher photon fluxes. The technique works over a very
large wavelength range, is free from fundamental read noise and dark-current
limitations, and provides microsecond-level timing resolution. Since the
instrument reads out all pixels continuously while exposing, there is no loss
of active exposure time to readout. The technology requires a different
approach to data reduction compared to conventional CCDs. We outline here the
prototype data reduction pipeline developed for ARCONS, though many of the
principles are also more broadly applicable to energy-resolved photon counting
arrays (e.g., transition edge sensors, superconducting tunnel junctions). We
describe the pipeline's current status, and the algorithms and techniques
employed in taking data from the arrival of photons at the MKID array to the
production of images, spectra, and time-resolved light curves.
