Low-Parallax Camera Layout for Real-Time Panoramic Compositing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing panoramic camera systems face challenges in generating low-parallax composite images due to significant parallax differences between adjacent cameras, leading to image artifacts, computational intensity, and slow processing times, especially in real-time applications.

Innovation Solution

A multi-camera system with low-parallax cameras is designed to minimize parallax by optimizing the placement of entrance pupils and employing a rigorous calibration process that maps every pixel to a 3D direction vector, followed by an optimized image blending method to ensure seamless image alignment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If multiple cameras are arranged with significant physical gaps between them, then blind regions are avoided, but image stitching becomes computationally intensive and slow

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoverage completenessVSAvoidimage processing speed

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the panoramic image into multiple overlapping regions captured by adjacent cameras, with each region processed independently through calibration and blending operations, enabling parallel computation and real-time processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary calibration of camera parameters and pre-computation of blending weights before actual image stitching, so that when images need to be stitched, the computationally intensive setup work is already complete, enabling real-time processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If multiple cameras are arranged with significant physical gaps between them, then blind regions are avoided, but image artifacts occur in overlap regions due to significant parallax differences

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoverage completenessVSAvoidimage alignment quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different processing strategies to different regions: overlap regions use specialized blending algorithms with adaptive weights to handle parallax, while non-overlap regions use standard stitching, optimizing quality for each local area

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts blending parameters and weights based on local parallax magnitude, using higher blending weights in regions with significant parallax differences and lower weights where parallax is minimal, thereby reducing artifacts adaptively

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If FOVs captured by adjacent cameras have significant FOV overlap, then blind regions are avoided, but image stitching becomes computationally intensive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoverage completenessVSAvoidcomputational energy

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses only the necessary portion of the overlapping FOV for stitching purposes, applying blending operations selectively to overlap regions rather than processing entire images, reducing computational energy while maintaining coverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS20260019712A1Image Compositing with Adjacent Low Parallax Cameras

Publication Date: 2026.01.15 CIRCLE OPTICS INC

AI summary

A multi-camera imaging system includes a plurality of imaging units arranged side-by-side to capture images of a scene. A calibration module is configured to determine intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of camera modules of the imaging units and to establish a per-pixel mapping from image coordinates to a three-dimensional space. An image processing module selects, for individual of the plurality of imaging units, a field-of-view region within a captured image and blends the fields-of-view from adjacent imaging units together to form a composite image.