Presenting panoramic images with geometric transformation

• US RE44,087 E1
• Filed: 01/27/2011
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cedar Lane Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: BH Image Co LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Driscoll, Edward Jr., Lomax, Willard Curtis, Morrow, Howard, Steinhauer, Alan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US13/015,142
• Time in Patent Office: 782 Days
• Field of Search: 348/335, 348/143
• US Class Current: 348/335
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/06 Panoramic objectives; So-called "sky lenses" including panoramic objectives having reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/00 Panoramic or wide-screen photography; Photographing extended surfaces, e.g. for surveying; Photographing internal surfaces, e.g. of pipe
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/0062 Panospheric to cylindrical image transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19626 optical details, e.g. lenses, mirrors or multiple lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19628 of wide angled cameras and camera groups, e.g. omni-directional cameras, fish eye, single units having multiple cameras achieving a wide angle view
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

Most camera systems only record an image from a limited viewing angle. A new panoramic camera apparatus is disclosed that instantaneously captures a 360 degree panoramic image. In the camera device, virtually all of the light that converges on a point in space is captured. Specifically, in the camera of the present invention, light striking this point in space is captured if it comes from any direction, 360 degrees around the point and from angles 50 degrees or more above and below the horizon. The panoramic image is recorded as a two dimensional annular image. Furthermore, various different systems for displaying the panoramic images and distributing the panoramic images. Specifically, methods and apparatus for digitally performing a geometric transformation of the two dimensional annular image into rectangular projections such that the panoramic image can be displayed using conventional methods such as printed images and televised images.

Claims

1. A method of presenting panoramic images, said the method comprising the steps of:

recording an annular representation of a panorama via an image capture system;

storing said, at a storage device, the annular representation of said the panorama as a digitized annular representation;

geometrically transforming said, via a computer system, the digitized annular representation of said the panorama into a rectangular projection of said the panorama;

and

displaying said rectangular projection of said panorama,

wherein said the step of geometrically transforming further comprises sampling said the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape, and wherein said the sampling shape is dependent upon a viewing angle.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the rectangular projection of the panorama.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to at least one of a vertical viewing angle and a horizontal viewing angle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the sample shape is dependent on both the vertical and horizontal viewing angles.

2. A method of presenting panoramic images, said the method comprising the steps of:

recording an annular representation of a panorama via an image capture system;

storing said, at a storage device, the annular representation of said the panorama as a digitized annular representation;

geometrically transforming said, via a computer system, the digitized annular representation of said the panorama into a rectangular projection of said the panorama; and

displaying said rectangular projection of said panorama,

wherein said the step of geometrically transforming further comprises sampling said the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape orientation, and wherein said the sampling shape orientation is dependent upon a horizontal viewing angle.

14. The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying the rectangular projection of the panorama.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to a vertical viewing angle.

3. A method of presenting panoramic images, said the method comprising the steps of:

recording an annular representation of a panorama via an image capture system;

storing said, at a storage device, the annular representation of said the panorama as a digitized annular representation;

and

geometrically transforming said, via a computer system, the digitized annular representation of said the panorama into a cylindrical representation of said the panorama; and

displaying said cylindrical representation of said panorama using a computer program.

4. The method as claimed in of claim 3 wherein said step of, further comprising displaying said the cylindrical representation of said the panorama using a computer program comprises running a QuickTime VR program.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of displaying the cylindrical representation of the panorama comprises displaying the cylindrical representation of the panorama using a computer program running QuickTime VR program.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of geometrically transforming comprises sampling the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape orientation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sampling share orientation is dependent upon a horizontal viewing angle.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to a vertical viewing angle.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of storing comprises storing the annular representation in a polar coordinate system.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising converting the annular representation from the polar coordinate system to a cylindrical coordinate system.

16. An apparatus comprising:

an image capture system configured to record an annular representation of a panorama;

a storage device configured to store the annular representation of the panorama as a digitized annular representation; and

a computer system configured to geometrically transform the digitized annular representation of the panorama into a rectangular projection of the panorama by, at least in part, sampling the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape, wherein the sampling shape is dependent upon a viewing angle.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a display configured to display the rectangular projection of the panorama.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to at least one of a vertical viewing angle and a horizontal viewing angle.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the sample shape is dependent on both the vertical and horizontal viewing angles.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a convex mirror configured to collect light from a 360 degree scene;

an astigmatism correction lens configured to focus the collected light from the convex mirror;

an objective lens configured to form an image using the focused light from the astigmatism correction lens; and

a field flattening lens configured to flatten a field of optimum focus of the focused light from the objective lens into a two-dimensional image.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the image capture system comprises a charge coupled device array configured to capture the annular representation of the panorama.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the charge coupled device array comprises a plurality of charge coupled device chips arranged across an image plane in a mosaic pattern.

23. An apparatus comprising:

an image capture system configured to record an annular representation of a panorama;

a storage device configured to store the annular representation of the panorama as a digitized annular representation; and

a computer system configured to geometrically transform the digitized annular representation of the panorama into a rectangular projection of the panorama by, at least in part, sampling the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape orientation, wherein the sampling shape orientation is dependent upon a horizontal viewing angle.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising a display configured to display the rectangular projection of the panorama.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to a vertical viewing angle.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising:

a convex mirror configured to collect light from a 360 degree scene;

an astigmatism correction lens configured to focus the collected light from the convex mirror;

an objective lens configured to form an image using the focused light from the astigmatism correction lens; and

a field flattening lens configured to flatten a field of optimum focus of the focused light from the objective lens into a two-dimensional image.

27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the image capture system comprises a charge coupled device array configured to capture the annular representation of the panorama.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the charge coupled device array comprises a plurality of charge coupled device chips arranged across an image plane in a mosaic pattern.

29. An apparatus comprising:

an image capture system configured to record an annular representation of panorama;

a storage device configured to store the annular representation of the panorama as a digitized annular representation; and

a computer system configured to geometrically transform the digitized annular representation of the panorama into a cylindrical representation of the panorama.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising a display configured to display the cylindrical representation of the panorama.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the display is configured to display the cylindrical representation of the panorama in accordance with instructions from a computer program running a QuickTime VR program.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the computer system is further configured to sample the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape orientation.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the sampling shape orientation is dependent upon at least one of a horizontal viewing angle and a vertical viewing angle.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the storage device is configured to store the annular representation in a polar coordinate system.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the computer system is further configured to convert the annular representation from the polar coordinate system to a cylindrical coordinate system.

36. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causing a computing device to perform operations comprising:

recording an annular representation of a panorama;

storing the annular representation of the panorama as a digitized annular representation; and

geometrically transforming the digitized annular representation of the panorama into a rectangular projection of the panorama by, at least in part, sampling the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape, wherein the sampling shape is dependent upon a viewing angle.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising displaying the rectangular projection of the panorama.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to at least one of a vertical viewing angle and a horizontal viewing angle.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the sampling shape is dependent on both the vertical and horizontal viewing angles.

40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causing a computing device to perform operations comprising:

recording an annular representation of a panorama;

storing the annular representation of the panorama as a digitized annular representation;

geometrically transforming the digitized annular representation of the panorama into a rectangular projection of the panorama by, at least in part, sampling the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape orientation, wherein the sampling shape orientation is dependent upon a horizontal viewing angle.

41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising displaying the rectangular projection of the panorama.

42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the sampling shape is proportional to a vertical viewing angle.

43. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causing a computing device to perform operations comprising:

instructions for recording the annular representation of a panorama;

instructions for storing the annular representation of the panorama as a digitized annular representation; and

instructions for geometrically transforming the digitized annular representation of the panorama into a cylindrical representation of the panorama.

44. The non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium of claim 43, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising displaying the cylindrical of the panorama.

45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising displaying the cylindrical representation of the panorama using a computer program running a QuickTime VR program.

46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 43, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising sampling the digitized annular representation with a dynamically changing sampling shape orientation.

47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 46, wherein the sampling shape orientation is dependent upon at least one of a horizontal viewing angle and a vertical viewing angle.

48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 43, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising storing the annular representation in a polar coordinate system.

49. The non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to perform operations comprising converting the annular representation from the polar coordinate system to a cylindrical coordinate system.