Depth maps generated from a single sensor

Abstract

An apparatus for generating a depth map comprising: a single camera module with a fixed near field focus configured to capture a single image; an image divider configured to segment the image into a plurality of regions; a focus metric determiner configured to determine a focus metric for each of the plurality of regions; and a depth map generator configured to map the focus metric into a depth value for each of the plurality of regions and combine the plurality of depth values to generate a depth map for the single camera.

Description

technical field

[0001] Some embodiments relate to apparatus and methods for generating a depth map from a single image captured by an image sensor. Background technique

[0002] Image sensors using photodiode pixels (eg implemented in a CMOS architecture) are known. Such image sensors have many applications. In some applications, an array of pixels may be provided. Devices for determining distances to objects are known.

[0003] Furthermore, current photonics 3D map / depth devices are generally limited to a single application for which they are optimized. For example, in some devices provided by multiple cameras or arrays of cameras, images may be used to determine distance. Computational camera applications can compare features within these images and, using knowledge of intrinsic and extrinsic parameters associated with the camera or camera array, determine the distance from the device. The computational camera application can thus create a 3D image with an associated ...

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