Composite Camera Array for Wide-Angle Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image capturing components in portable devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, face challenges in achieving a wider angle and higher resolution field of view while maintaining a thin and cost-effective design, as they typically rely on single large high-resolution cameras that are bulky and expensive to produce.
Innovation Solution
The construction of a composite image capturing component by combining an array of multiple smaller and lower resolution cameras, each aimed in a different direction, either through tilting or lens shifting, to increase the total field of view and reduce the overall size and cost, with image stitching software combining the images into a single composite image.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single large high-resolution camera is used, then image quality and resolution are improved, but device thickness and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a single large high-resolution camera into multiple smaller lower-resolution cameras arranged in an array. Each smaller camera has reduced thickness requirements, and collectively they achieve the desired field of view and resolution through their combined imaging capability, resolving the contradiction between image quality and device thickness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-camera approach to a multi-camera array configuration, utilizing spatial arrangement in multiple dimensions. This dimensional change allows the system to achieve wider field of view and equivalent resolution without increasing the thickness of individual camera components
2Measurement precision
If a single large high-resolution camera is used, then image quality is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments a single expensive high-resolution camera into multiple smaller lower-resolution cameras. Each smaller camera is cheaper to manufacture, and the array configuration achieves equivalent or superior imaging performance through combined output, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining image quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs multiple smaller, lower-cost camera modules instead of one expensive high-resolution camera. These smaller cameras can be manufactured more cheaply using standard processes, and their collective performance matches or exceeds that of a single large camera, addressing the cost-quality tradeoff
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple smaller cameras are combined to increase field of view, then angle of view is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple smaller camera outputs into a single composite image through image stitching software. This combining process integrates the individual fields of view to create a wider overall field of view while managing the complexity through automated software processing rather than complex mechanical arrangements
4Volume of moving object
If multiple smaller cameras are used, then overall size is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary calibration and alignment procedures during the manufacturing and setup phase. By pre-calibrating the positions and orientations of the smaller cameras in the array, the system compensates for manufacturing tolerances and ensures accurate image stitching, thereby reducing the stringency of real-time manufacturing precision requirements
Data Source
AI summary
Approaches are described for constructing a single camera by combining an array (or other arrangement) of multiple smaller and lower resolution cameras. Each of the smaller cameras is aimed in a different direction in order to provide a wider angle and higher resolution field of view (FOV) for the resulting composite camera. Images captured by all of the cameras in the array can be stitched together using software to produce a single composite photograph. This construction method can enable the camera unit to be thinner and potentially cheaper in construction costs than an equivalent single-piece camera that has been conventionally implemented in portable devices.