Multi-Camera Depth Imaging Synchronization Architecture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current portable devices with multiple cameras lack efficient synchronization of multiple image sensors to achieve robust 3D camera performance, leading to errors in depth perception due to device movement and scene changes, and require specialized hardware or modules.
Innovation Solution
A system with multiple image sensors mounted on the same side of a device, synchronized using frame counters and a bridge circuit to generate depth maps, eliminating the need for specialized hardware and allowing for robust 3D performance with low latency, while enabling enhanced photography use cases like measurement and refocus effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cameras are used for depth perception, then 3D imaging capability is improved, but synchronization accuracy deteriorates due to device movement and scene changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration to establish the geometric relationship between multiple cameras before actual imaging. This pre-established calibration data enables accurate depth calculation even when devices move or scenes change during operation, resolving the synchronization accuracy issue without requiring complex real-time synchronization hardware.
2Reliability
If specialized hardware modules are used for depth capture, then depth perception performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces specialized depth capture hardware with standard cameras combined with computational algorithms. By using conventional image sensors and processing circuits to calculate depth through stereo vision and frame comparison, the system achieves depth perception functionality without requiring expensive specialized hardware modules, thereby reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables multiple imaging modes (2D photography, 3D depth capture, video recording) using a universal camera array configuration. The same set of standard cameras serves all functions by switching between different processing modes, eliminating the need for separate specialized hardware for each function and reducing overall device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If multiple image sensors are synchronized, then depth map quality is improved, but processing latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic frame comparison where images from multiple cameras are captured and processed in synchronized periodic cycles. By organizing depth calculation as a periodic operation that compares corresponding frames from different cameras, the system maintains synchronization for high-quality depth maps while managing processing time through efficient batch processing of complete frame sets.
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging architecture is described for a depth camera mode with mode switching. In one example, an imaging device has a primary camera to capture an image of a scene, a secondary camera to capture an image of the same scene, a third camera to capture an image of a second scene, a processor having a first port coupled to the primary camera to receive images from the primary camera and a second port to receive images, and a multiplexer coupled to the secondary camera and to the third camera to receive the captured images and to alternately couple the secondary camera or the third camera to the second port of the processor.