Capturing and Processing of Images Captured by Arrays Including Polychromatic Cameras
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A camera array, comprising:
- a plurality of cameras configured to capture images of a scene, where each camera comprises;
optics comprising at least one lens element and at least one aperture; and
a sensor comprising a two dimensional array of pixels and control circuitry for controlling imaging parameters;
a controller configured to control operation parameters of the plurality of cameras; and
an image processing pipeline module;
wherein the plurality of cameras comprises a plurality of different types of camera, where cameras of a given type share the same imaging characteristics and different types of cameras have different imaging characteristics;
wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one polychromatic camera having sensitivity across the entire visible spectrum and near-IR spectrum;
wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image, where a camera configured to capture a visible light image includes at least one spectral filter configured to pass a specific spectral band of visible light;
wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to;
measure parallax using images captured by the plurality of cameras to produce a depth map; and
fuse images captured by the polychromatic camera and at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image to produce an image.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A camera array, an imaging device and/or a method for capturing image that employ a plurality of imagers fabricated on a substrate is provided. Each imager includes a plurality of pixels. The plurality of imagers include a first imager having a first imaging characteristics and a second imager having a second imaging characteristics. The images generated by the plurality of imagers are processed to obtain an enhanced image compared to images captured by the imagers. Each imager may be associated with an optical element fabricated using a wafer level optics (WLO) technology.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A camera array, comprising:
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a plurality of cameras configured to capture images of a scene, where each camera comprises; optics comprising at least one lens element and at least one aperture; and a sensor comprising a two dimensional array of pixels and control circuitry for controlling imaging parameters; a controller configured to control operation parameters of the plurality of cameras; and an image processing pipeline module; wherein the plurality of cameras comprises a plurality of different types of camera, where cameras of a given type share the same imaging characteristics and different types of cameras have different imaging characteristics; wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one polychromatic camera having sensitivity across the entire visible spectrum and near-IR spectrum; wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image, where a camera configured to capture a visible light image includes at least one spectral filter configured to pass a specific spectral band of visible light; wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to; measure parallax using images captured by the plurality of cameras to produce a depth map; and fuse images captured by the polychromatic camera and at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image to produce an image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A camera array, comprising:
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a monolithic integrated module forming a plurality of cameras, where the monolithic integrated module comprises; a lens element array forming the optics of each of the plurality of cameras, where the optics of each camera comprises at least one lens element and at least one aperture; and a single semiconductor substrate on which all of the pixels and control circuitry for each camera are formed; a controller configured to control operation parameters of the linear array of cameras; and an image processing pipeline module; wherein the plurality of cameras comprises a plurality of different types of camera, where cameras of a given type share the same imaging characteristics and different types of cameras have different imaging characteristics; wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one polychromatic camera having sensitivity across the entire visible spectrum and near-IR spectrum; wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image, where a camera configured to capture a visible light image includes at least one spectral filter configured to pass a specific spectral band of visible light; wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to; measure parallax using images captured by the plurality of cameras to produce a depth map; and fuse images captured by the polychromatic camera and at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image to produce an image; and wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to select at least one distance as an “
in best focus”
distance and blur the produced image based upon the depth map.
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25. A camera array, comprising:
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a plurality of cameras formed on separate semiconductor substrates and mounted to a motherboard, where each camera comprises; optics comprising at least one lens element and at least one aperture; and a sensor comprising a two dimensional array of pixels and control circuitry for controlling imaging parameters; a controller configured to control operation parameters of the linear array of cameras; and an image processing pipeline module; wherein the plurality of cameras comprises a plurality of different types of camera, where cameras of a given type share the same imaging characteristics and different types of cameras have different imaging characteristics; wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one polychromatic camera having sensitivity across the entire visible spectrum and near-IR spectrum; wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image, where a camera configured to capture a visible light image includes at least one spectral filter located within the camera configured to pass a specific spectral band of visible light; wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to; measure parallax using images captured by the linear array of cameras to produce a depth map; and fuse images captured by the polychromatic camera and at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image to produce an image; and wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to select at least one distance as an “
in best focus”
distance and blur the produced image based upon the depth map.
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Specification