Constant resolution continuous hybrid zoom system
AssigneeImmervision, Inc.
InventorsPatrice Roulet, Jocelyn Parent, Xavier Dallaire, Pierre Konen, Pascale Nini
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical apparatus captures images of a wide-angle scene with a single camera having a continuous panomorph zoom distortion profile. When combined with a processing unit, the hybrid zoom system creates an output image with constant resolution while allowing continuous adjustment in the magnification and field of view of the image without interpolation like a digital zoom system or without any moving parts like an optical zoom system.
Claims25
A method for creating a continuous zoom optical system using an imager creating a digital image file having a variable magnification across a field of view in order to have a ratio close to 1:1 between a number of image sensor pixels and a number of output image pixels in a region of a selected output field of view, the method comprising of:
- a. creating, using an imager having at least an imaging system and an image sensor, an optical image of a scene in an image plane;
- b. converting, by the image sensor of the imager, the optical image into a digital image, the image sensor including a plurality of image sensor pixels, the digital image having a digital image distortion with a rectilinear magnification from a center of the field of view up to a minimum design field of view and a generally decreasing magnification from the minimum design field of view up to a maximum design field of view;
- c. receiving, by a processing unit, a selection of an output field of view value between the minimum design field of view value and the maximum design field of view value;
- and
- d. processing, by the processing unit, the digital image in order to create a processed image, the processing unit dewarping the digital image to remove distortion created by the imager while keeping a ratio between the number of image sensor pixels and a number of processed image pixels close to 1:1 in a region at the edge of the selected output field of view, the processed image having its field of view cropped to the selected output field of view value.
A continuous zoom optical system using an imaging system to create a digital image file having a variable magnification across a field of view in order to have a resolution ratio close to 1:1 between a number of image sensor pixels and a number of output image pixels in a region of a selected output field of view, the optical system comprising:
- a. an imaging system creating in an image plane an optical image of a scene, the imaging system having optical distortion such that the optical image has a rectilinear magnification from a center of the field of view up to a minimum design field of view and a generally decreasing magnification from the minimum design field of view up to a maximum design field of view;
- b. an image sensor converting the optical image to a digital image, the image sensor including a plurality of image sensor pixels, and the digital image having a digital image distortion resulting from the optical distortion of the imaging system;
- c. an output field of view value selection unit for receiving a selection of an output field of view value between the minimum design field of view value and the maximum design field of view value;
- and
- d. a processing unit processing the digital image in order to create a processed image, the processing unit dewarping the digital image while keeping a ratio between the number of image sensor pixels and a number of processed image pixels close to 1:1 in a region at the edge of the selected output field of view, the processed image having its field of view cropped to the selected output field of view value.
A continuous zoom optical system using smart binning from an image sensor to create a digital image file having a variable magnification across a field of view in order to have a resolution ratio close to 1:1 between a number of image sensor pixels and a number of output image pixels in a region of a selected output field of view, the optical system comprising:
- a. an imaging system creating in an image plane an optical image of a scene;
- b. an image sensor converting the optical image to a digital image, the image sensor including a plurality of image sensor pixels;
- c. a smart binning unit to do smart binning of the image sensor pixels such that the resulting digital image has a rectilinear magnification from a center of the field of view up to a minimum design field of view and a generally decreasing magnification from the minimum design field of view up to a maximum design field of view;
- d. an output field of view value selection unit for receiving a selection of an output field of view value between the minimum design field of view value and the maximum design field of view value;
- and
- e. a processing unit processing the digital image in order to create a processed image, the processing unit dewarping the digital image to remove distortion created by the smart binning unit while keeping a ratio between the number of image sensor pixels and a number of processed image pixels close to 1:1 in a region at the edge of the selected output field of view, the processed image having its field of view cropped to the selected output field of view value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.