Camera With Moveable Mirror For Selective High-Resolution Capture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Videoconferences face challenges with wide field of view cameras that capture a large room but result in distant participants appearing small and of poor resolution, while digital zoom reduces image quality and auto framing can distort images, and narrow field of view cameras provide higher resolution but limit the room's capture area.
Innovation Solution
A videoconference system with a moveable mirror that directs a narrow field of view camera within a wide field of view, allowing for simultaneous streaming of multiple narrow fields of view, enabling high-resolution capture of distant participants without digital zoom, by shifting the camera axis using a fast steering mirror or MEMS technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a wide field of view camera is used to capture all participants, then the coverage area is improved, but the image resolution and quality deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the video capture function into multiple cameras: a wide field of view camera for overall coverage and a telephoto camera for high-resolution close-ups. This segmentation allows each camera to optimize for its specific function, resolving the contradiction between coverage area and image resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a moveable mirror as an intermediary device that redirects light from different areas of the scene to the telephoto camera. This allows the telephoto camera to capture distant participants with high resolution without requiring physical proximity, resolving the contradiction between coverage area and image resolution.
2Area of stationary object
If digital zoom is used to get closer views of speakers, then the coverage area is maintained, but the image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The moveable mirror acts as an optical intermediary that physically redirects light paths to bring distant participants into the telephoto camera's field of view. This optical approach maintains full image quality without the degradation inherent in digital zoom processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the digital processing approach (digital zoom) with a mechanical/optical approach (moveable mirror and telephoto lens). This substitution eliminates the quality loss associated with digital zoom while maintaining the ability to capture distant participants.
3Manufacturing precision
If a narrow field of view camera is used to capture distant participants, then the image resolution is improved, but the coverage area deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mirror moveable, allowing dynamic adjustment of which area of the scene is directed to the telephoto camera. This enables the system to switch between capturing different participants or areas as needed, providing high resolution for distant participants while maintaining overall coverage through the wide field of view camera.
Solution Approach 2:
The moveable mirror can periodically scan across different areas of the scene, sequentially directing different regions to the telephoto camera. This periodic action allows the narrow field of view camera to capture multiple different areas over time, effectively expanding its coverage while maintaining high resolution.
4Area of stationary object
If auto framing is used to track speakers, then the coverage area is maintained, but image distortion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The moveable mirror serves as an intermediary that enables the telephoto camera to track distant participants by redirecting light from different angles. This optical tracking mechanism avoids the digital image warping and distortion inherent in software-based auto framing while maintaining natural image geometry.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides high-resolution video streams of both close and distant participants, maintaining image quality and capturing a wider area, with the moveable mirror allowing for seamless switching between axes to ensure clear and detailed visuals.
Implementation Method 1
a moveable mirror interfaces with the first camera to adjust the axis along which the narrow field of view aligns
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system camera leverages telephoto optics by a moveable mirror interfaced with a first camera having a lens with a narrow field of view to capture portions of a wide field of view of a second camera lens so that the camera has improved visual images captured of participants at various distances from the camera. In one embodiment, visual images captured along first and second axes are interleaved to present a videoconference presentation streamed with visual images of both axes, such as a split screen of different videoconference participants.