Capturing and Processing of Near-IR Images Including Occlusions Using Camera Arrays Incorporating Near-IR Light Sources
AssigneePelican Imaging Corporation
InventorsKartik Venkataraman, Amandeep S. Jabbi, Robert H. Mullis
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Abstract
A camera array, an imaging device and/or a method for capturing image that employ a plurality of imagers fabricated on a substrate is provided. Each imager includes a plurality of pixels. The plurality of imagers include a first imager having a first imaging characteristics and a second imager having a second imaging characteristics. The images generated by the plurality of imagers are processed to obtain an enhanced image compared to images captured by the imagers. Each imager may be associated with an optical element fabricated using a wafer level optics (WLO) technology.
Claims25
A camera array, comprising:
- a plurality of cameras configured to capture images of a scene, where each camera comprises:
- optics comprising at least one lens element and at least one aperture;
- a sensor comprising a two dimensional array of pixels and control circuitry for controlling imaging parameters;
- and
- a near-IR light source configured to illuminate the scene during image capture;
- a controller configured to control operation parameters of the plurality of cameras;
- and
- an image processing pipeline module;
- wherein the plurality of cameras includes multiple cameras configured to capture near-IR images;
- wherein the plurality of cameras includes at least one camera configured to capture a visible light image;
- wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to generate a depth map using near-IR images captured by the multiple cameras configured to capture near-IR images by:
- detecting parallax-induced changes that are consistent across the captured images taking into account the position of the cameras that captured the images;
- and
- ignoring pixels in the captured images that are in an exposed occlusion set.
A camera array, comprising:
- a linear array of cameras configured to capture images of a scene, where each camera in the linear array comprises:
- optics comprising at least one lens element and at least one aperture;
- and
- a sensor comprising a two dimensional array of pixels and control circuitry for controlling imaging parameters;
- a near-IR light source configured to illuminate the scene during image capture;
- a controller configured to control operation parameters of the linear array of cameras;
- and
- an image processing pipeline module;
- wherein the linear array of cameras includes cameras that have different resolutions and fields of view;
- wherein the linear array of cameras includes a central camera dedicated to sampling luma;
- wherein the camera dedicated to sampling luma is configured to capture a visible light image using a wide angle lens;
- wherein the linear array of cameras includes multiple cameras configured to capture near-IR images distributed on either side of the central camera;
- and
- wherein the image processing pipeline module is configured to generate a depth map for a visible light image produced by the camera array using images captured by the linear array of cameras.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.