Camera Fusion Architecture for Thin Devices and High-Resolution ROI Imaging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to design a thinner camera lens for laptops and tablets with high resolution and wide field of view without increasing the Z height, as existing solutions with higher resolution and wider field of view result in bulkier camera sizes that do not fit within the device's space constraints.
Innovation Solution
An enhanced image quality system that combines multiple cameras, including a wide field of view (FOV) RGB camera and a narrow FOV camera, to switch between them intelligently, maintaining a reduced Z height and enhancing pixel per face resolution at various distances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If higher resolution and wider field of view cameras are used, then image quality and coverage are improved, but camera lens thickness (Z height) increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the camera system into multiple separate camera modules, each with specific field of view characteristics (wide FOV, medium FOV, narrow FOV). This segmentation allows each camera to be optimized for its specific function while keeping individual lens thicknesses minimal, avoiding the need for a single thick high-resolution lens.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of improving resolution by increasing lens thickness in the Z-dimension, the patent transitions to utilizing multiple cameras arranged in a spatial array. The system achieves enhanced effective resolution through computational fusion of images from multiple cameras with different FOVs, changing the problem from a single-dimension (lens thickness) to a multi-dimensional solution (spatial arrangement and computational processing).
2Measurement precision
If higher resolution cameras are used, then pixel per face is improved, but device thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges images from multiple cameras with different field of views (wide FOV, medium FOV, narrow FOV) to create a composite image with enhanced pixel per face measurement. The narrow FOV camera provides high magnification for detailed facial features, while the other cameras provide contextual information and help with image fusion to achieve superior effective resolution without requiring a single thick high-resolution lens.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters by selecting and combining images from cameras with different FOV parameters based on the subject distance and required pixel per face measurement. This allows the system to achieve variable effective resolution adapted to different usage scenarios while maintaining thin device profile.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes systems, methods, and devices related to enhanced image quality. A device may capture a first image data from a first camera of a plurality of cameras attached in a forward facing direction toward an object in a first field of interest. The device may compare a resolution of the first image data to a base visual quality threshold. The device may, based on the comparison, select a second camera of the plurality of cameras for capturing a second image data of the object. The device may combine the first image data from the first camera and the second image data from the second camera. The device may generate a third image data based on combining the first image data and the second image data.