Omnidirectional imaging apparatus
First Claim
1. An imaging apparatus for sensing an image of a scene from a substantially single viewpoint, comprising:
- (a) a truncated, substantially paraboloid-shaped reflector positioned to orthographically reflect principal rays of electromagnetic radiation radiating from said scene that would otherwise pass through said substantially single viewpoint, said paraboloid-shaped reflector having a focus coincident with said single viewpoint of said imaging apparatus, including said paraboloid-shaped reflector;
(b) substantially telecentric means, optically coupled to said paraboloid-shaped reflector, for substantially filtering out principal rays of electromagnetic radiation which are not orthographically reflected by said paraboloid-shaped reflector; and
(c) one or more image sensors positioned to receive said orthographically reflected principal rays of electromagnetic radiation from said paraboloid-shaped reflector, thereby sensing said image of said scene.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging apparatus for sensing an image of a scene from a substantially single viewpoint, which includes a truncated, substantially paraboloid-shaped reflector positioned to orthographically reflect principal rays of electromagnetic radiation radiating from the scene, the paraboloid-shaped reflector having a focus coincident with the single viewpoint of the imaging apparatus, including the paraboloid-shaped reflector. The imaging apparatus also includes telecentric means, optically coupled to the paraboloid-shaped reflector, for substantially filtering out principal rays of electromagnetic radiation which are not orthographically reflected by the paraboloid-shaped reflector. The imaging apparatus also includes one or more image sensors positioned to receive the orthographically reflected principal rays of electromagnetic radiation from the paraboloid-shaped reflector, thereby sensing the image of the scene.
130 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An imaging apparatus for sensing an image of a scene from a substantially single viewpoint, comprising:
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(a) a truncated, substantially paraboloid-shaped reflector positioned to orthographically reflect principal rays of electromagnetic radiation radiating from said scene that would otherwise pass through said substantially single viewpoint, said paraboloid-shaped reflector having a focus coincident with said single viewpoint of said imaging apparatus, including said paraboloid-shaped reflector; (b) substantially telecentric means, optically coupled to said paraboloid-shaped reflector, for substantially filtering out principal rays of electromagnetic radiation which are not orthographically reflected by said paraboloid-shaped reflector; and (c) one or more image sensors positioned to receive said orthographically reflected principal rays of electromagnetic radiation from said paraboloid-shaped reflector, thereby sensing said image of said scene. - 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, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An imaging method for sensing an image of a scene from a substantially single viewpoint, comprising the steps of:
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(a) orthographically reflecting principal rays of electromagnetic radiation radiating from said scene that would otherwise pass through said substantially single viewpoint on a truncated, substantially paraboloid-shaped reflector such that said single viewpoint of said imaging method coincides with a focus point of said paraboloid-shaped reflector; (b) telecentrically filtering out a substantial portion of any principal rays of electromagnetic radiation which are not orthographically reflected by said paraboloid-shaped reflector; and (c) sensing said orthographically reflected principal rays of electromagnetic radiation from said paraboloid-shaped reflector with one or more image sensors to thereby sense said image of said scene. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification