Adjustable parallax distance, wide field of view, stereoscopic imaging system
First Claim
1. A wide field-of-view stereoscopic camera system comprising:
- a support structure having M arms, where M is an integer equal to or greater than 2, each of the arms being spaced around a constructive circle and having a mount point, coincident with the circle, defining a radius of the circle, wherein the radius is half of a parallax distance, and the circle defines a horizontal plane and the circle defines a constructive right cylinder that contains that circle and that has an axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane and wherein each of the arms has a length adjustment to vary the distance between the center of the circle and the mount point;
N digital cameras, wherein N is at least equal to M, each digital camera having a lens with a focal point and an optical axis and producing an image encoded in a digital output and having a horizontal field of view and a vertical field of view;
the digital cameras mounted to the support structure so that each arm supports at least one digital camera so that (i) the focal point thereof is proximate to such arm'"'"'s mount point and (ii) the optical axis thereof is generally tangent to the cylinder; and
an image processor, coupled to the digital output of each of the N digital cameras, to form a stereo view pair, wherein the processor forms a left view from the digital outputs of a first set of the N cameras and forms a right view from the digital outputs of a second set of the N cameras, wherein the first and second sets are disjoint;
wherein at least one digital camera is mounted so that its horizontal field of view is subject to a partial obscuration by an object associated with an adjacent arm forming blind area in its field of view, and wherein the image processor compensates for the obscuration at least in part by replacing the blind area with part of a view available from one of the digital cameras mounted on the adjacent arm.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging system and methods for using an imaging system where the operator is able to variably adjust the parallax distance for enhanced stereo performance are disclosed. In addition, by coordinating the parallax distance with the optical settings of the camera, artificial 3D experiences can be created that give a user the perception of observing a scene from a distance different than that actually employed. The imaging system may also include a plurality of stereo camera supersets, wherein a first one or more stereo camera supersets are positioned at a different height relative to a first stereo camera superset. Novel specific uses of the camera system, such as in capturing events of interest are described. Useful techniques for extracting or encoding wide field of view images from memory are also disclosed.
83 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A wide field-of-view stereoscopic camera system comprising:
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a support structure having M arms, where M is an integer equal to or greater than 2, each of the arms being spaced around a constructive circle and having a mount point, coincident with the circle, defining a radius of the circle, wherein the radius is half of a parallax distance, and the circle defines a horizontal plane and the circle defines a constructive right cylinder that contains that circle and that has an axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane and wherein each of the arms has a length adjustment to vary the distance between the center of the circle and the mount point; N digital cameras, wherein N is at least equal to M, each digital camera having a lens with a focal point and an optical axis and producing an image encoded in a digital output and having a horizontal field of view and a vertical field of view; the digital cameras mounted to the support structure so that each arm supports at least one digital camera so that (i) the focal point thereof is proximate to such arm'"'"'s mount point and (ii) the optical axis thereof is generally tangent to the cylinder; and an image processor, coupled to the digital output of each of the N digital cameras, to form a stereo view pair, wherein the processor forms a left view from the digital outputs of a first set of the N cameras and forms a right view from the digital outputs of a second set of the N cameras, wherein the first and second sets are disjoint; wherein at least one digital camera is mounted so that its horizontal field of view is subject to a partial obscuration by an object associated with an adjacent arm forming blind area in its field of view, and wherein the image processor compensates for the obscuration at least in part by replacing the blind area with part of a view available from one of the digital cameras mounted on the adjacent arm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A wide field-of-view stereoscopic camera system comprising:
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a support structure having L sets of arms, where L is an integer greater than 1, and each set has at least 2 arms, each of the arms in a particular one of the sets being spaced around a distinct one of L constructive circles, and having a mount point, coincident with the distinct one circle, defining a radius of the circle, wherein the radius is half of a parallax distance and the radius of each of the L constructive circles is different, and the distinct one circle is contained within a plane that is parallel to a horizontal plane and that is at a height from the horizontal plane, where the height is measured as a distance along a constructive axis that is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and wherein the plane corresponding to each of the L constructive circles is at a distinct height; N digital cameras, wherein N is at least equal to the number of arms in the camera system, each digital camera having a lens with a focal point and an optical axis and producing an image encoded in a digital output and having a horizontal field of view and a vertical field of view, the digital cameras mounted to the support structure so that each arm supports at least one digital camera so that (i) the focal point thereof is proximate to such arm'"'"'s mount point and (ii) the optical axis thereof is generally tangent to the constructive circle corresponding to that mount point; and an image processor, coupled to the digital output of each of the N digital cameras, that forms at least one stereo view pair, wherein, for each stereo view pair, the processor forms a left view from the digital outputs of a first set of the N cameras and forms a right view from the digital outputs of a second set of the N cameras, wherein the first and second sets are disjoint. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification