Apparatus and method for acquiring uniform-resolution panoramic images

• US 6,809,887 B1
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Issued: 10/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vision Technologies
• Original Assignee: Vision Technologies
• Inventors: Gao, Chunyu, Hua, Hong, Ahuja, Narendra
• Primary Examiner(s): Spector, David N.
• Application Number:
  US10/460,855
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 348/48, 352/70, 359/725
• US Class Current: 359/725
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/06 Panoramic objectives; So-called "sky lenses" including panoramic objectives having reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/17 with reflectors arranged in beam forming the photographic image, e.g. for reducing dimensions of camera
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A panoramic imaging system is constructed to acquire panoramic images of a very large field of view. The field of view ranges from being nearly hemispherical, to being omni directional with some parts occluded. The panoramic imaging system is comprised of multiple imaging sensors, each imaging different parts of the field of view. The panoramic image is constructed by mosaicing the images taken by different sensors that share a common viewpoint. The resolution across the entire panoramic image is substantially the same. Specific embodiments of the camera provide specific combinations of features, such as different visual fields.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising

a cylinder with polygonal cross section having flat faces and reflective outer surface,

a plurality of image detecting means placed so as to have a common virtual optic center, each receiving light from a front field of view, reflected off a cylinder face, to acquire images of a conical ring of the front field of view around axial direction,

a single image detecting means placed so as to have its optic center coincide with the common virtual optic center and acquiring the image of axial field of view centered at and containing the axis,

means for adjusting the image detecting means so they provide a contiguous and uniform-resolution front field of view, and

means responsive to said image detecting means to create a panoramic image from the individual images provided by the image detecting means.

2. The imaging apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

an extension of the cylinder,

a plurality of image detecting means placed so as to have the same common virtual optic center, each receiving light from the rear field of view, reflected off an extended cylinder face, to acquire images of a conical ring of the rear field of view around rear axial direction,

a single rear image detection means and a rear reflecting face which redirects light from the rear axial direction into the rear image detection means which provides an image of the rear axial field of view, analogous to the image of the front axial field of view provided by the front axial camera,

means for adjusting all image detecting means so they provide a partial, uniform-resolution rear field of view, and

means responsive to said image detecting means to create a combined front and rear field of view panoramic image from the individual images provided by all image detecting means.

3. The single rear reflecting face of claim 2 is the rear end cross sectional face of the cylinder, and a single rear image detecting means is placed along the rear axis with optic center on the axis, pointing at the rear reflecting face and optic axis along the rear axis, thus including the rear image detecting means in the rear axial field of view.

4. The single rear reflecting face of claim 2 is placed off the rear axis, and a single rear image detecting means which is placed off the rear axis, thus excluding the rear image detecting means from the rear axial field of view.

5. The imaging apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

an extension of the cylinder faces to form a pyramid shaped cap,

a plurality of image detecting means placed so as to have the same common virtual optic center, each receiving light from the rear field of view, reflected off a pyramid face, to acquire images of the rear field of view around rear axial direction,

means for adjusting all image detecting means so they provide a partial, uniform-resolution rear field of view, and

means responsive to said image detecting means to create a combined front and rear field of view panoramic image from the individual images provided by all image detecting means.

6. The imaging apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

an extension of the cylinder faces but after rotation so the cross section edges of the original and extended cylinder are not parallel,

a plurality of image detecting means placed so as to have the same common virtual optic center, each receiving light from the rear field of view, reflected off an extended cylinder face, to acquire images of a conical ring of the rear field of view around rear axial direction,

a single rear image detection means and a rear reflecting face redirects light from the rear axial direction into the rear image detection means which provides an image of the rear axial field of view, analogous to the image of the front axial field of view provided by the front axial camera,

means for adjusting all image detecting means so they provide a partial, uniform-resolution rear field of view, and

means responsive to said image detecting means to create a combined front and rear field of view panoramic image from the individual images provided by all image detecting means.

7. The imaging apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

an extension of the cylinder,

a plurality of image detecting means placed so as to have the same common virtual optic center, each receiving light from the field of view, reflected off an extended cylinder face, to acquire images of a sphere of the field of view in all possible direction,

a single image detection means and a reflecting face which redirects light from the surface normal direction into the image detection means which provides a partial image of the spherical field of view,

means for adjusting all image detecting means so they provide a partial, uniform-resolution field of view, and

means responsive to said image detecting means to create a combined front and rear field of view panoramic image from the individual images provided by all image detecting means.