IMU-Guided Digital Image Stitching for 2D Panoramic Views
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital images captured by devices like mobile cameras have limited field of view and lack orientation and location data, making them unsuitable for precise machine vision applications, especially in confined spaces such as oral imaging, where features like teeth are difficult to analyze accurately.
Innovation Solution
A digital image stitching system using a camera and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor synchronizes and corrects rotation angles to reconstruct 2D panoramic images without relying on 3D data, providing precise orientation and rotation for enhanced imaging precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional digital images are captured with limited field of view, then image resolution and quality are maintained, but the coverage area and ability to capture multiple features are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures multiple individual images of different regions (e.g., multiple teeth) and processes them separately before combining into a panoramic view, allowing each image to maintain high resolution while the overall coverage expands to include multiple features
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from capturing single 2D images to creating a panoramic composite that adds spatial dimensionality, arranging multiple images in sequence to provide both wide coverage and maintainable resolution through the panoramic format
2Measurement precision
If conventional digital images are captured without orientation data, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to determine spatial relationships and orientation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The IMU sensor serves multiple functions by providing both orientation data for image alignment and motion tracking data for panoramic construction, while the same processed images serve both visual inspection and machine vision analysis purposes
Solution Approach 2:
The IMU sensor acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between simple image capture and complex spatial analysis, providing the necessary orientation and position data that enables precise image alignment without requiring complex mechanical or optical systems
3Area of stationary object
If multiple images are captured over time without orientation correction, then field of view is expanded, but image alignment and stitching accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary orientation correction on each image using IMU data before the stitching process, ensuring that images are pre-aligned to their correct spatial orientations, which significantly improves the accuracy and ease of the subsequent stitching operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses IMU sensor data as feedback to continuously monitor and correct the orientation of the camera during the capture process, allowing for real-time adjustment of image alignment parameters to maintain high stitching precision across multiple images
Data Source
AI summary
Digital image stitching systems and methods are disclosed herein for generating one or more panoramic image views. A plurality of digital images depicting a target feature within an application area are captured by a camera of a scanner device. Motion data is captured, by a sensor coupled to the scanner device, as the scanner device moves relative to the target feature, where relative position data, corresponding to the plurality of digital images, is determined based on the motion data. An angle or position is generated for a first image relative to a second image of the plurality of images, and, based on image matching of the angle or the position of the second image with respect to the first image, a panoramic image view is generated depicting the target feature in a wider field of view of the application area than either the first image or the second image.