Three-mirror panoramic camera
US8451318B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 13, 2009 |
| Grant date | May 28, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 22, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B17/0824
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and method for obtaining images having an ultra-wide field of view angle. A panoramic camera includes two subsystems: an optical subsystem and an image sensor. The optical subsystem includes at least a three-aspheric mirrors for producing an image of objects in the ultra-wide field of view. The produced images are correctable by a standard optical element to produce on an image plane an image having an optical resolution approximately equal or exceeding the Nyquist sampling criterion for the image sensor. A first mirror provides a sharp, compressed, virtual image using a convex paraboloidal or hyperboloidal mirror. Second and third mirrors redirect light onto the correction element through a folded optical path. The standard optical element projects a virtual image onto the image sensor. Image processing software can be used to decompress and unwrap the ultra-wide angle image captured by the image sensor.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.