Defocusing Feature Matching System to Measure Camera Pose with Interchangeable Lens Cameras

• US 20110037832A1
• Filed: 08/09/2010
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Lu, Jian, Hsieh, Scott, Jeon, David, Pereira, Francisco, Harvard, Alexei, Gharib, Morteza
• Granted Patent: US 8,773,507 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/46
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/34 using different areas in a pupil plane
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/14 interchangeably
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/565 Optical accessories, e.g. converters for close-up photography, tele-convertors, wide-angle convertors
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 19/12 Reflex cameras with single objective and a movable reflector or a partly-transmitting mirror
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/00 Stereoscopic photography
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 9/02 Diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/204 using stereoscopic image cameras stereoscopic photography G03B35/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/743 Bracketing, i.e. taking a series of images with varying exposure conditions

Abstract

A lens and aperture device for determining 3D information. An SLR camera has a lens and aperture that allows the SLR camera to determine defocused information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a first time, obtaining an image with a camera with a first lens attached to the camera where the first lens includes controllable aperture, and said first image includes information for the two-dimensional image; and

at a second time, obtaining an image with said camera using a different second lens attached to the camera, where the second lens includes an aperture set that is coded to form two separate channels which are differentiable from one another, and produces an output which includes information indicative of three-dimensional, defocused, information.

2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising using said output at said second time to create a three-dimensional image.

3. A method as in claim 2, further comprising using said output of said second time to determine both the pose of the camera at the time of said second time, and also to determine poses of the camera at other times when other information was obtained, and to combine together said output with said other information to create a composite 3-D image based on said output and other information.

4. A method as in claim 1, further comprising at said first time, controlling said aperture to different aperture amounts.

5. A method as in claim 4, wherein said aperture at said second time is fixed.

6. A method as in claim 5, wherein said aperture of said second time includes a first aperture with a first color coding, and a second aperture with a second color coding.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein said first color coding is red and said second color coding is green.

8. A method as in claim 1, further comprising communicating between said lens and said camera using a device in said lens to indicate a type of said lens.

9. A lens assembly, comprising:

a first portion which connects to a camera of a type which receives conventional lenses that have lens groups and controllable apertures, said first portion including the portion that connects to said camera;

a lens group, defining an optical axis through a body of said lens assembly; and

a fixed aperture plate, defined along said optical axis, which has at least a first fixed aperture at a first location on said optical axis and at least a second fixed aperture at a second location on said optical axis, where said first and second fixed apertures are optically differentiable.

10. A lens assembly as in claim 9, further comprising an element within said lens assembly which communicates electrically to a camera and indicates information about the lens assembly.

11. A lens assembly as in claim 9, wherein said first and second fixed apertures have different colors which are differentiable from one another.

12. A method lens assembly as in claim 9, wherein said first and second fixed apertures have different polarization states.

13. A lens assembly as in claim 9, wherein said first and second fixed apertures have different outside shapes.

14. A system comprising:

a camera body;

a lens assembly, having an aperture set that is coded to form two separate channels which are differentiable from one another,

said camera body producing an output which includes information indicative of three-dimensional, defocused, information; and

a computer, coupled to said camera body to receive said information from said camera body, said computer using said output to create a three-dimensional image.

15. A system as in claim 14, wherein said computer uses said information to determine both the pose of the camera body and lens, and also to determine poses of the camera body and lens at other times when other information was obtained, and to combine together said output with said other information to create a composite 3-D image based on said information and said other information.

16. A system as in claim 14, wherein said aperture has a first aperture portion with a first color coding, and a second aperture portion with a second color coding.

17. A system as in claim 16, wherein said first color coding is red and said second color coding is green.

18. A system as in claim 14, further comprising a device in said lens that provides information to said camera body indicating a type of said lens.