Virtual reality camera
DCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. A hand-held camera comprising:
- a camera housing;
a camera lens mounted on said camera housing;
image acquisition circuitry located within said camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said camera lens at various orientations of said camera housing;
at least one user input panel for receiving a user request to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; and
image processing circuitry located within said camera housing;
responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection, for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of a view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, by determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view, and by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on the spatial relationships.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for creating and rendering multiple-view images. A camera includes an image sensor to receive images, sampling logic to digitize the images and a processor programmed to combine the images based upon a spatial relationship between the images.
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Citations
111 Claims
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1. A hand-held camera comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on said camera housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said camera lens at various orientations of said camera housing; at least one user input panel for receiving a user request to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; and image processing circuitry located within said camera housing;
responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection, for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of a view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, by determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view, and by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on the spatial relationships. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A hand-held camera comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on said camera housing; a display mounted on said camera housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said cameral camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said camera lens at various orientations of said camera housing; image processing circuitry located within said camera housing for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, by determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view, and by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on spatial relationships; at least one user input panel to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image view mode, and to receive a user request to display a spatial region of the cylindrical panoramic image on said display; and view control circuitry, located within said camera housing and responsive to the panoramic image view mode, to display a spatial region of the cylindrical panoramic image on said display, wherein said view control circuitry selects the spatial region of the cylindrical panoramic image based upon the user request. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for providing cylindrical panoramic images comprising:
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selecting a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; acquiring images of fields of view at various orientations of a camera; and when the panoramic image capture mode is selected, at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, comprising; determining spatial relationships between the image of fields of view; and mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on the spatial relationships. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for providing cylindrical panoramic images comprising:
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acquiring images of fields of view at various orientations of a camera; at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a fields of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, comprising; determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view; and mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on the spatial relationships; selecting a panoramic or non-panoramic image view mode; when the panoramic image view mode is selected, receiving a user request to display a spatial region of a cylindrical panoramic image; and displaying the spatial region of the cylindrical panoramic image. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A hand-held camera comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on said camera housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said camera lens at various orientations of said camera housing; at least one user input panel for receiving a user request to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; and image processing circuitry located within said camera housing, responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection, for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, by determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view, and by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a spherical surface, based on the spatial relationships. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A hand-held camera comprising:
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a careen camera housing; a camera lens mounted on said camera housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said camera lens at various orientations of said camera housing; at least one user input panel for receiving a user request to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; and image processing circuitry located within said camera housing, responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection, for at least partially combining each successively acquired images of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on spatial relationships between the images of fields of view. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A hand-held camera comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on said camera housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said camera lens at various orientations of said camera housing; at least one user input panel for receiving a user request to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; and image processing circuitry located within said camera housing, responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection, for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, by napping mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a spherical surface, based on spatial relationships between the images of fields of view. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A method for providing spherical panoramic images comprising:
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selecting a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; acquiring images of fields of view at various orientations of a camera; and when the panoramic image capture mode is selected, at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, comprising; determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view; and mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a spherical surface, based on the spatial relationships.
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34. A method for providing cylindrical panoramic images comprising:
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selecting a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; acquiring images of fields of view at various orientations of a camera; and when the panoramic image capture mode is selected, at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, comprising mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on spatial relationships between the images of fields of view.
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35. A method for providing spherical panoramic images comprising:
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selecting a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; acquiring images of fields of view at various orientations of a camera; and when the panoramic image capture mode is selected, at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with previously acquired image of fields of view, on an image by image basis in real time, comprising mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a spherical surface, based on spatial relationships between the images of fields of view.
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36. A camera comprising
a housing; -
a lens mounted on said housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said housing for acquiring images of fields of view via said lens at various orientations of said housing; at least one input panel for receiving a request to select a panoramic or non-panoramic image capture mode; and image processing circuitry located within said housing and responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection, for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of a view with previously acquired images of fields of view, on an image-by-image basis in real time, by determining spatial relationships between the images of fields of view, and by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a smooth surface, based on the spatial relationships.
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37. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on the housing; image acquisition circuitry located within the housing for acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the housing; at least one input panel for receiving a selection of a panoramic or a non-panoramic image capture mode; and image processing circuitry located within the housing, responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of a view with at least one previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view, by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on the housing; a display mounted on the housing; image acquisition circuitry located within the housing capable of successively acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the camera housing; image processing circuitry located within the housing capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface to form a panoramic image based at least in part on spatial relationships; at least one input panel capable of receiving a panoramic-image view mode selection, and capable of receiving a request to display a selected spatial region of the panoramic image on the display; and view-control circuitry, located within the housing, capable of displaying the selected spatial region of the panoramic image on the display in response to the panoramic-image view mode selection. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on the housing; image acquisition circuitry located within the housing capable of acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the camera housing; at least one input panel capable of receiving a panoramic-image capture mode selection; and image processing circuitry located within the housing, responsive to the panoramic-image capture mode selection, capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time by determining at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view, and by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a smooth surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship. - View Dependent Claims (59)
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60. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on housing; image acquisition circuitry located within the housing capable of acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the housing; at least one input panel capable of receiving a panoramic-image capture mode selection; and image processing circuitry located within the housing, responsive to the panoramic-image capture mode selection, capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view. - View Dependent Claims (61)
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62. A camera, comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on the housing; image acquisition circuitry located within the camera housing for acquiring images of fields of view via the camera lens at various orientations of the camera housing; at least one input panel capable of receiving a panoramic-image capture mode selection; and image processing circuitry located within the camera housing, responsive to the panoramic-image capture mode selection capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view. - View Dependent Claims (63)
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64. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on the housing; means for acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the housing, the means for acquiring the image being located within the housing; means for receiving a selection of a panoramic or a non-panoramic image capture mode; and means for processing images located within the housing, the means for processing images responsive to the panoramic image capture mode selection for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of a view with at least one previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view, and for mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on the housing; a display mounted on the housing; means for acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the housing, the means for acquiring images being located within the housing and being capable of successively acquiring images; image processing circuitry located within the housing capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface to form a panoramic image based at least in part on spatial relationships; means for receiving a panoramic-image view mode selection, and capable of receiving a request to display a selected spatial region of the panoramic image on the display; and means for controlling a display, located within the housing, by displaying the selected spatial region of the panoramic image on the display in response to the panoramic-image view mode selection. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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85. A camera, comprising:
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means for acquiring images of fields of view at various orientations of a camera; means for at least partially combining each successively acquired image of fields of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time, comprising; means for determining at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view; and means for mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a smooth surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship; means for receiving a request to display a selected spatial region of a panoramic image; and means for displaying the selected spatial region of the panoramic image. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87)
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88. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on the housing; means for acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the camera housing, the means for acquiring being located within the housing; means for receiving a panoramic-image capture mode selection; and means for processing images located within the housing, the means for processing images being responsive to the panoramic-image capture mode selection, being capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of a field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time by determining at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view, and for mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a smooth surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship. - View Dependent Claims (89)
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90. A camera, comprising:
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a housing; a lens mounted on housing; means for acquiring images of fields of view via the lens at various orientations of the housing, the means for acquiring being located within the housing; means for receiving a panoramic-image capture mode selection; and means for processing images located within the housing, the means for processing images being responsive to the panoramic-image capture mode selection and being capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired image of field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view. - View Dependent Claims (91)
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92. A camera, comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on the housing; means for acquiring images of fields of view via the camera lens at various orientations of the camera housing, the means for acquiring images being located within the camera housing; means for receiving a panoramic-image capture mode selection; and means for processing images located within the camera housing, the means for processing images being responsive to the panoramic-image capture mode selection and being capable of at least partially combining each successively acquired image of a field of view with a previously acquired field of view on an image-by-image basis in real time by mapping the images of fields of view onto regions of a surface based at least in part on at least one spatial relationship between the images of fields of view. - View Dependent Claims (93)
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94. A camera comprising:
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a camera housing; a camera lens mounted on said housing; image acquisition circuitry located within said camera housing to acquire images via said camera lens at at least two orientations of said camera housing; means for selecting a panoramic image capture mode; image processing circuitry located within said camera housing, responsive to the selection of the panoramic image capture mode, to at least partially combine at least one successively acquired image with at least one previously acquired image by mapping the images onto regions of a cylindrical surface wherein the mapping is based, at least in part, on one or more spatial relationships between the images as determined on an image-by-image basis in real time; and a sensing element adapted to determine when a next image in said panoramic image capture mode is to be acquired based in response to detection of at least an orientation of said camera. - View Dependent Claims (95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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103. A method for providing cylindrical panoramic images comprising:
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sensing selection of a panoramic image capture mode; acquiring images at various orientations of a camera; responsive to said selection of said panoramic image capture mode, at least partially combining at least one successively acquired image with one or more previously acquired images, on an image-by-image basis in real time, comprising; determining spatial relationships between the images; and mapping the images onto regions of a cylindrical surface, based on the spatial relationships; and sensing an orientation of said camera to determine when a next image in said panoramic image capture mode is to be acquired based at least in part on a camera orientation. - View Dependent Claims (104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111)
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Specification