Aperture coded camera for three dimensional imaging
First Claim
1. A method of three dimensionally imaging at least one site, comprising:
- imaging the site through three seperate camera lens assemblies;
restricting an overall size of a scene that is imaged through the lenses, by allowing light to pass only through a plurality of apertures of specified shapes, each associated with one of the lens assemblies;
associating each of the plurality of lens assemblies and apertures with a separate camera portion, such that light which passes through each aperture is imaged by an entire camera portion; and
analyzing said light from each of the camera portions, to determine three dimensional object information about the object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining instantaneously the three-dimensional coordinates of large sets of points in space is disclosed. This system uses two or more CCD cameras (or any other type of camera), each with its own lens and pinhole. The CCD'"'"'s are all arranged so that the pixel arrays are within the same plane. The CCD'"'"'s are also arranged in a predefined pattern. The combination of the multiple images acquired from the CCD'"'"'s onto one single image forms a pattern, which is dictated by the predefined arrangement of the CCD'"'"'s. The size and centroid on the combined image are a direct measure of the depth location Z and in-plane position (X,Y), respectively. The use of a predefined pattern enables high speed computation through simple algorithmic procedures. Moreover, the use of CCD cameras allows for the recording of such datasets at the corresponding image frame rate, thus opening the use of the invention to the mapping of dynamical systems.
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Citations
4 Claims
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1. A method of three dimensionally imaging at least one site, comprising:
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imaging the site through three seperate camera lens assemblies;
restricting an overall size of a scene that is imaged through the lenses, by allowing light to pass only through a plurality of apertures of specified shapes, each associated with one of the lens assemblies;
associating each of the plurality of lens assemblies and apertures with a separate camera portion, such that light which passes through each aperture is imaged by an entire camera portion; and
analyzing said light from each of the camera portions, to determine three dimensional object information about the object. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A three-dimensional camera device, comprising:
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first, second and third lens systems, arranged in the shape of an equilateral triangle;
first, second and third aperture plates, each associated with one of said lens systems;
a camera system, operating to obtain an image of a scene which has passed through said apertures, and a controller, said controller controlling said camera such that each aperture is associated with a separate camera portion which includes substantially an entirety of said camera portion taking an image through each aperture at a specified time. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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Specification