Structured-light method and system of dynamically generating a depth map

A structured-light (SL) method of dynamically generating a depth map, comprising:

• detecting distance of an object;
• moving a lens of an image capture device to a first position associated with first depth of field (DOF) if the distance is not greater than a predetermined threshold;
• moving the lens to a second position associated with second DOF if the distance is greater than the predetermined threshold;
• capturing reflected structured light to result in an image;
• and
• processing the image to generate a depth map.

A structured-light (SL) system of dynamically generating a depth map, comprising:

• a structured-light illuminator that emits predefined structured light to an object;
• an image capture device including at least one lens through which reflected structured light from the object is received, thereby capturing an image;
• and
• a processor that processes the image to generate a depth map;
• wherein the processor moves the lens to a position associated with depth of field (DOF) according to distance of the object;
• or
• the processor moves the lens to different positions associated with corresponding DOFs, thereby generating corresponding depth maps, which are combined to result in a combined depth map.

The system of 12, wherein the processor performs the following steps:

• moving the lens to a first position associated with first DOF if the distance is not greater than a predetermined threshold;
• moving the lens to a second position associated with second DOF if the distance is greater than the predetermined threshold;
• and
• processing the image to generate the depth map.