Range estimation apparatus and method
First Claim
1. Apparatus for estimating the distance from an observation location to various points in a three-dimensional scene that contains a three-dimensional object, comprising:
- optical mask means at said observation location constructed and arranged to yield a rank deficient, known, imaging system transformation matrix for a predetermined spread of object distances, thereby encoding object distance information onto the intensity field of light passing through said mask means,image recording and retrieval device means for digitally recording the intensity of said distance encoded light, anddigital processing means for extracting said distance information from said digitally recorded intensity of said distance encoded light.
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Abstract
A range or distance estimating apparatus and method estimates the range to various points within a scene by imaging the scene through an optical mask and a lens onto a CCD, and then digitally processing the light intensity values stored in the CCD. The optical mask is designed such that the optical system transformation matrix is rank deficient for a particular set of object ranges. In this way, linear functions can be found to annihilate given sampled image data at a plurality of ranges, independent of the intensity of the light received from the object. A statistical detector is used to determine the closest associated range to the actual range of the point within the scene.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. Apparatus for estimating the distance from an observation location to various points in a three-dimensional scene that contains a three-dimensional object, comprising:
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optical mask means at said observation location constructed and arranged to yield a rank deficient, known, imaging system transformation matrix for a predetermined spread of object distances, thereby encoding object distance information onto the intensity field of light passing through said mask means, image recording and retrieval device means for digitally recording the intensity of said distance encoded light, and digital processing means for extracting said distance information from said digitally recorded intensity of said distance encoded light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for estimating the distance to various points in a three-dimensional scene, comprising;
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mask means constructed and arranged to yield a rank deficient, known, imaging system transformation matrix for a predetermined spread of scene distances, thereby encoding distance information into the intensity of the light passing through said mask means, and distance detecting means responsive to said encoded distance information.
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7. A method for estimating the distance to various points in a three-dimensional scene that contains a three-dimensional object, comprising the steps of:
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A) passing light from the scene through an optical mask constructed and arranged to yield a rank deficient, known, imaging system transformation matrix for a predetermined spread of object distances, thereby encoding distance information into the intensity of the light passing through said mask, B) recording the intensity of the light received through said mask onto an image recording and retrieval device, and C) processing said recorded intensity of light to extract said distance information therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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Specification