Camera system with both a wide angle view and a high resolution view

• US 20020180759A1
• Filed: 04/30/2002
• Published: 12/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Immersive Licensing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: iMove Inc. (Digital Domain Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Park, Michael C., Ripley, G. David
• Granted Patent: US 6,738,073 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/04 Context-preserving transformations, e.g. by using an importance map panospheric to cylindrical image transformations G06T3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/002 for television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/806 with processing of the sound signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8211 the additional signal being a sound signal H04N9/835 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8233 the additional signal being a character code signal

Abstract

An improved surveillance system which includes a multi-lens camera system and a viewer. The camera system includes a plurality of single lens cameras each of which have a relatively wide angle lens. These single lens cameras simultaneously capture images that can be seamed into a panorama. The camera system also includes a high resolution camera (i.e. a camera with a telephoto lens) that can be pointed in a selected direction that is within the field of view of the other cameras. The system displays a view window into the panorama that is created from images captured by the wide angle lenses. The image from the high resolution camera is either superimposed on top of the panoramic image or it is displayed on a separate monitor. If it is displayed in the panorama, the higher solution image is positioned at the point in the panorama which is displaying the same area in space at a lower resolution. Thus an operator sees a relatively low resolution panorama; however, a selected portion of the panorama is displayed at a high resolution. An operator can point the high resolution camera toward any desired location, thereby providing an output which shows more detail in a selected area of the panorama.

Claims

1. ) A camera system including:

a wide angle camera subsystem for capturing a first image of a large area which includes a selected small area,

a high resolution camera which captures a high resolution image of said selected small area,

a rendering system which displays said first image with said high resolution image superimposed on said first image at the location of said small area.

2. ) The system recited in claim 1 wherein said wide angle camera subsystem captures a plurality of images that are seamed into a panorama.

3. ) The system recited in claim 1 wherein said wide angle camera sub system and said high resolution camera are digital cameras.

4. ) The system recited in claim 1 wherein said wide angle camera sub system includes five single lens cameras that capture images that can be seamed into a panorama.

5. ) The system recited in claim 1 wherein said wide angle camera subsystem includes five single lens cameras that capture images that can be seamed into a panorama and where said rendering system only renders a view window into said panorama.

6. ) The system recited in claim 1 wherein said wide angle camera sub system and said high resolution camera simultaneously capture images.

7. ) The system recited in claim 1 including a calibration table which correlates positions of said high resolution camera with particular area in said first image.

29. ) The system recited in claim 2 wherein each of said images is captured with an exposure setting that is optimal for that particular image.

8. ) A method of capturing and displaying images including:

capturing a first image of a large area which includes a selected small area,

capturing at high resolution a high resolution image of said selected small area,

rendering said first image with said high resolution image superimposed on said first image at the location of said small area.

32. ) The method recited in claim 8 wherein said first image is formed by seaming a plurality of images from single view cameras each of which are set to an exposure setting that is optimal for that particular camera.

33. ) The method recited in claim 32 wherein said images from said single view cameras are modified by blending said images so that artifacts due to the differences in exposure where said images are joined are minimized.

35. ) The system recited in claim 34 wherein said objects are detected by detecting the motion of said objects.

9. ) The method recited in claim 9 wherein said first image and said high resolution image are captured simultaneously.

10. ) The method recited in claim 9 including a calibration step for calibrating the location of said high resolution image with locations in said first image.

11. ) The method recited in claim 9 wherein said first image consists of a plurality of images that are seamed into a panorama.

12. ) The method recited in claim 9 wherein said first image and said high resolution image are digital images.

13. ) The method recited in claim 9 wherein said first image consists of five single lens images that are seamed into a panorama.

16. ) The system recited in claim 15 wherein said telephoto lens is a zoom lens.

17. ) the system recited in claim 15 wherein said wide field of view lenses and said telephoto lens simultaneously capture images.

19. ) The system recited in claim 18 wherein the system includes a plurality of telephoto lenses which have different resolutions.

20. ) The system recited in claim 19 wherein when displayed a high resolution image is surrounded by a medium resolution image which in turn is surrounded by a low resolution image.

30. ) The system recited in claim 18 wherein each of said single lens camera has an independent exposure setting.

14. ) A surveillance system including:

one or more wide field of view single lens cameras which capture images that constitute or which can be seamed into a panorama,

a telephoto camera with a narrow filed of view that can be directed to capture a selected area that is within the area covered by said panorama,

a display which displays a view window into said panorama with the image from said telephoto camera superimposed on said panorama.

15. ) A camera system that includes:

a first subsystem for acquiring a first image of a first area at a first resolution,

a second subsystem for acquiring a second image of a second area at a second resolution,

wherein said first area is larger than said second area and said second area is included in said first area and wherein said first resolution is lower than said second resolution,

a display system for displaying said first image and for displaying said second image at the location in said first image covering said second area.

18. ) A camera system including:

one or more wide field of view single lens cameras which capture images that constitute or which can be seamed into a panorama,

one or more telephoto cameras with narrow fields of view that can be directed to capture one or more selected areas that are within the area covered by said panorama,

a display which displays a view window into said panorama with the images from one or more of said telephoto cameras superimposed on said panorama.

21. ) A system for capturing and displaying a panoramic image including

a subsystem for capturing a high resolution non-optical image from an area included in said panorama,

a display system for displaying at least a portion of said panorama with said non-optical image displayed superimposed on said panorama at the area in said panorama covered by said non-optical image.

22. ) The system recited in claim 21 wherein said high resolution image is a EO (electro-optic) image.

23. ) The system recited in claim 21 wherein said high resolution image is an IR (infrared) image.

24. ) The system recited in claim 21 wherein said high resolution image is a radar image.

27. ) the method recited in claim 26 including displaying on said first monitor an indication of the location of said selected area.

31. ) The system recited in claim 28 wherein each of said single lens cameras is set to an exposure setting that is optimal for that particular camera.

34. ) The system recited in claim 28 wherein said mirror control system is directed by signals from a second system that detects objects.

25. ) A camera system including:

a wide angle camera subsystem for capturing a first image of a large area which includes a selected small area,

a high resolution camera which captures a high resolution image of said selected small area,

a rendering system which includes a first monitor, and a second monitor,

said first monitor displaying said first image with an indication of the area covered by said high resolution image, said second monitor displaying said high resolution image.

26. ) A method of capturing and displaying images,

capturing a wide angle image of a theater, and simultaneously capturing a high resolution image of a selected area in said theater,

displaying at least a selected portion of said wide angle image on a first monitor and,

displaying said high resolution image on a second display.

28. ) A camera system comprising,

a plurality of wide angle single lens cameras which simultaneously capture a plurality of wide angle images that can be seamed into a panorama,

a moveable mirror,

a high resolution single lens camera directed at said mirror, and

a mirror control mechanism for orienting said mirror.