Mapping a two-dimensional image to a cylindrical surface using a tuned distortion curve

Abstract

In a typical two-dimensional rectilinear image, all pixel widths are constant across the image. If the two-dimensional rectilinear image is mapped to a cylindrical surface, the pixels at the edge of the image are viewed at an angle, making the effective width of the pixels at the edge smaller than the effective width of the pixels in the interior of the image. This problem may be solved by applying a tuned distortion curve to the two-dimensional rectilinear image, which makes the pixels near the edge of the image wider than pixels in the interior of the image. When pixels that have been distorted in this manner are mapped to a cylindrical surface, the effective pixel width is uniform. A lens with a tuned distortion curve built into its optical profile captures at least a portion of the surrounding imagery such that the resultant image has uniform resolution when projected onto a virtual cylinder centered around a viewer.

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