COMPACT PANORAMIC CAMERA: OPTICAL SYSTEM, APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING METHOD

摘要

An optical system, apparatus, and method for sensing 360-degree horizontal and wide vertical field of view are shown. Powerful optics creates high resolution decompressed images on an image sensor. The compact panoramic camera includes two major optical components: (i) an axially symmetric convex aspheric reflector incorporated into a catadioptric optical element capable of providing a virtual curved image of a 360-degree panoramic scene with a specific image compression and (ii) a decompression lens with hardware aperture. The decompression lens is comprised of three single lens elements and accepts the virtual curved and compressed image and projects it onto the image sensor with high optical resolution and desirable image decompression to achieve a high digital resolution at the same time. Another version of decompression lens is comprised only of a single lens element and projects high resolution decompressed images onto an image sensor.

主权项

1. A system for a compact panoramic camera having an image sensor, comprising:
a convex reflector having an axially symmetric aspheric surface that provides a virtual curved and compressed image of a panoramic scene with a non-parabolic image compression; and a decompression lens positioned to receive the virtual curved and compressed image, the decompression lens configured to:
decompress the virtual curved and compressed image into a real image with a high optical resolution and a parabolic image decompression; andproject the real image onto the image sensor.