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US 11,108,941 B2Granted
Multi-camera imaging systems
OwnerJohn Klostermaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A plurality of multi-camera systems and methods for imaging faint objects are disclosed, which includes an array of cameras that, when taken alone, are incapable of imaging such objects. The systems and methods may include common field arrays, hybrid field arrays, and/or adaptive field arrays.
Claims23
An imaging system, comprising:
- a plurality of cameras, each camera being configured to capture an image substantially simultaneously with respect to one another, and having a field of view defining boundaries of the captured image, wherein the plurality of cameras are configured such that a field of view region is common among the fields of view of the plurality of cameras;
- a computing device communicatively coupled to the cameras, the computing device configured to:
- access one or more of the images captured by the plurality of the cameras,
- co-register the accessed images, and
- combine the co-registered images, thereby generating a combined image with at least one portion having a greater signal-to-noise ratio than any of the images standing alone;
- and
- a synchronized timecode reader/generator comprising a global positioning system (GPS) receiver coupled to the computing device, the synchronized timecode reader/generator being configured to provide coordinate and timing data to the computing device for purposes of facilitating co-registration of the accessed images based on a time each image was captured, and being configured to support resolution values of about 10 milliseconds or fewer.
4 more elements
An imaging system, comprising:
- a plurality of camera arrays, each camera array including a plurality of cameras each camera configured to capture an image substantially simultaneously with respect to one another and having a field of view defining boundaries of the captured image, and each camera array having a common field of view region that is common among the fields of view of the plurality of cameras of each respective camera array, wherein the common field of view region of each respective camera array partially overlaps the common field of view region of another of the camera arrays;
- a computing device communicatively coupled to the camera arrays, the computing device configured to:
- generate from the captured images of each camera array a combined image having a greater signal-to-noise ratio than any of the images of each respective camera array standing alone, and
- stitch the combined images together based on a spatial relationship in which the common field of view region of each respective camera array partially overlaps the common field of view region of another of the camera arrays, thereby generating a composite image representing a wider field of view than any combined image standing alone and having a greater signal-to-noise ratio than any of the images captured by any of the cameras of each respective camera array standing alone;
- and
- a synchronized timecode reader/generator, including a global positioning system (GPS) receiver coupled to the computing device, the synchronized timecode reader/generator being configured to provide coordinate and timing data to the computing device for purposes of facilitating co-registration of the accessed images based on a time each image was captured, and being configured to support resolution values of about 10 milliseconds or fewer.
3 more elements
An imaging system, comprising:
- a plurality of cameras, each camera configured to capture an image substantially simultaneously with respect to one another and having a field of view defining boundaries of the captured image, and the plurality of cameras configured such that the fields of view of the cameras collectively form a composite field of view that is greater than any of the fields of view of any of the cameras standing alone;
- a computing device communicatively coupled to the cameras, the computing device configured to:
- detect a target object in an image captured by one of the cameras, and
- automatically reconfigure, readapt, reposition, reorient, or rearrange the plurality of cameras such that a common field of view region is common among the fields of view of the plurality of cameras and the detected target object is positioned within the common field of view region,
- access an image captured by each of the cameras after being reconfigured, readapted, repositioned, reoriented, or rearranged,
- co-register the images, and
- combine the images, thereby generating a combined image with at least one portion having a greater signal-to-noise ratio than any of the images standing alone;
- and
- a synchronized timecode reader/generator comprising a global positioning system (GPS) receiver coupled to the computing device, the synchronized timecode reader/generator being configured to provide coordinate and timing data to the computing device for purposes of facilitating co-registration of the accessed images based on a time each image was captured, and being configured to support resolution values of about 10 milliseconds or fewer.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.