Hyperacuity from pre-blurred sampling of a multi-aperture visual sensor

A passive sensor for detecting motion and edges of an object at a distance from a surface of said sensor having a chosen shape, comprising in combination:

• at least two spaced-apart, focusing lenses for receiving light from said object and disposed on the surface, each of said at least two lenses having an optical axis, wherein the optical axes of adjacent lenses of said at least two focusing lenses have a chosen angle therebetween;
• at least two light-to-voltage converters having a light-sensitive surface, each light-sensitive surface being disposed along the optical axis of one of said at least two lenses, each of said lenses focusing light onto the light-sensitive surfaces of said at least two light-to-voltage converters, wherein the light-sensitive surfaces are located closer to an associated lens of said at least two lenses than the focal plane of said lens, whereby the light from said object is blurred, and wherein a voltage responsive to the light from said object is generated in each of said at least two light-to-voltage converters;
• and
• means for measuring voltage differences between adjacent light-to-voltage converters from which motion and edges of said object are detected.

A method for detecting motion and edges of an object at a distance from a surface having a chosen shape, comprising the steps of:

• receiving light from the object on at least two spaced-apart, focusing lenses disposed on the surface facing the object, each of the lenses having an optical axis, wherein the optical axes of adjacent lenses have a chosen angle therebetween;
• focusing light from the at least two lenses onto the surface of a first end of each of at least two optical fibers disposed along the optical axis thereof, each end surface being located closer to the lens associated therewith than the focal plane of the lens, whereby the light form the object is blurred;
• generating a voltage from light exiting a second end of each of the at least two optical fibers;
• and
• measuring differences in the voltage generated from adjacent optical fibers, from which motion and edges of the object are detected.

A method for detecting motion and edges of an object at a distance from a surface having a chosen shape, comprising the steps of:

• receiving light from the object on at least two focusing lenses disposed on the surface facing the object, each of the lenses having an optical axis, wherein the optical axes of adjacent lenses have a chosen angle therebetween;
• focusing light from the lenses onto each of at least two light-sensitive surfaces disposed along the optical axis of the lens associated therewith such that the light-sensitive surface is located closer to the lens than the focal plane of the lens, whereby the light from the object is blurred;
• generating a voltage from the light focused on each the at least two light-sensitive surfaces;
• and
• measuring differences in voltage generated from adjacent light-sensitive surfaces, from which motion and edges of the object are detected.