Mosaicing images with an offset lens

• US 7,123,292 B1
• Filed: 09/29/1999
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Flynn, Michael J., Newman, William M., Dance, Christopher R., Taylor, Stuart A., Seeger, Mauritius
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): MISLEH, JUSTIN P
• Application Number:
  US09/408,873
• Time in Patent Office: 2,575 Days
• Field of Search: 359/381, 359/201, 359/202, 359/200, 359/210, 348/195, 348/202, 348/218.1, 348/335, 348/340, 348/343, 348/344, 348/360, 348/361, 348/369, 348/373, 348/375, 348/219.1, 348/47, 348/48, 358/497
• US Class Current: 348/218.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/02 Bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/04 with movement of beam-selecting members in a system defining two or more viewpoints
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/02 with scanning movement of lens or cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 5/02 Lateral adjustment of lens
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/195 the array comprising a two-dimensional array or a combination of two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/19594 using a television camera or a still video camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0414 Scanning an image in a series of overlapping zones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0436 Scanning a picture-bearing surface lying face up on a support H04N2201/0434 takes precedence; using cylindrical picture bearing surfaces H04N1/06; with manual scanning H04N1/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/58 Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

A camera can be used to record multiple low resolution images of an object by shifting a camera lens relative to an image sensor of the camera. Each camera image recorded represents a portion of the object. A composite high resolution image of the object can be obtained by patching together the camera images by using various well known mosaicing, tiling, and/or stitching algorithms.

Claims

1. A method of scanning with a camera, comprising the steps of:

(a) recording a first view of an area having one or more objects while a lens is positioned at a fixed offset position within a plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis of the lens while the camera is at a first rotated position;

(b) rotating the camera about an axis of rotation parallel to an optical axis of the lens from the first rotated position to a second rotated position;

(c) recording a second view of the area while the lens is positioned at the fixed offset position within the plane after the camera is rotated to the second rotated position; and

(d) combining all recorded views to produce a composite image having a higher resolution than the resolution of one or more of the recorded views by patching the views together at regions of overlap.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising between step (c) and step (d), the steps of:

(f) rotating the camera about the axis of rotation from the second rotated position to a third rotated position;

(g) recording a next view of the area while the lens is positioned at the fixed offset position within the plane after the camera is rotated to a third rotated position.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

(h) repeating steps (f) and (g) until all views of the area have been recorded.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises rotating the camera about the axis of rotation 180 degrees from the first rotated position to the second rotated position, and wherein step (c) further comprises the step of recording the second view of the area while the lens is positioned at the offset fixed position within the plane after the camera is rotated 180 degrees to the second rotated position.

5. An image acquisition system, comprising:

a plurality of cameras simultaneously records a plurality of views of an area having one or more objects to produce a plurality of camera images of different portions of the area, each camera having a lens positioned within a plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis of the lens, wherein the view of each camera is positioned to record a portion of the area with at least one of the cameras having an offset lens to produce an oblique field of view of the portion it records of the area, and wherein the offset lens of the at least one camera may be shifted to one of a plurality of offsets; and

an image processing system coupled to the plurality of cameras and operable to combine the plurality of camera images simultaneously recorded to produce a composite image having a higher resolution than the resolution of one or more of the simultaneously recorded views of the area;

wherein at least a second of the plurality of cameras has a fixed offset lens to produce an oblique field of view.

6. The image acquisition system of claim 5, wherein at least one camera with no lens offset is interposed between the cameras recording oblique fields of view.

7. A method of scanning with a camera system having a plurality of cameras, comprising the steps of:

(a) simultaneously recording a plurality of views of an area having one or more objects with a plurality of cameras to produce a plurality of camera images of different portions of the area, each camera having a lens positioned within a plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis of the lens, wherein the view of each camera is positioned to record a portion of the area with at least one of the cameras having an offset lens to produce an oblique field of view of the portion it records of the area, and wherein the offset lens of the at least one camera may be shifted to one of a plurality of offsets; and

(b) combining the plurality of simultaneously recorded camera images to produce a composite image having a higher resolution than the resolution of one or more of the simultaneously recorded views of the area;

wherein at least a second of the plurality of cameras has a fixed offset lens to produce an oblique field of view.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one camera with no lens offset is interposed between the cameras recording oblique fields of view.

9. An image acquisition system, comprising:

a plurality of cameras simultaneously records a plurality of views of an area having one or more objects to produce a plurality of camera images of different portions of the area, each camera having a lens positioned within a plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis of the lens, wherein the view of each camera is positioned to record a portion of the area with at least one of the cameras having an offset lens to produce an oblique field of view of the portion it records of the area, and wherein the offset lens of the at least one camera may be shifted to one of a plurality of offsets; and

an image processing system coupled to the plurality of cameras and operable to combine the plurality of camera images simultaneously recorded to produce a composite image having a higher resolution than the resolution of one or more of the simultaneously recorded views of the area by patching the views together at regions of overlap;

wherein at least a second of the plurality of cameras has a fixed offset lens to produce an oblique field of view.

10. The image acquisition system of claim 9, wherein at least one camera with no lens offset is interposed between the cameras recording oblique fields of view.

11. A method of scanning with a camera system having a plurality of cameras, comprising the steps of:

(a) simultaneously recording a plurality of views of an area having one or more objects with a plurality of cameras to produce a plurality of camera images of different portions of the area, each camera having a lens positioned within a plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis of the lens, wherein the view of each camera is positioned to record a portion of the area with at least one of the cameras having an offset lens to produce an oblique field of view of the portion it records of the area, and wherein the offset lens of the at least one camera may be shifted to one of a plurality of offsets; and

(b) combining the plurality of simultaneously recorded camera images to produce a composite image having a higher resolution than the resolution of one or more of the simultaneously recorded views of the area by patching the views together at regions of overlap;

wherein at least a second of the plurality of cameras has a fixed offset lens to produce an oblique field of view.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one camera with no lens offset is interposed between the cameras recording oblique fields of view.