Multi-Camera Visual System for Wide Field of View
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable near-to-eye display systems face limitations due to tunnel vision, incorrect focus, and improper viewing perspective, leading to eye strain and nausea, primarily because existing systems cannot replicate the human visual field of view effectively due to size, weight, and power constraints.
Innovation Solution
A visual system with multiple cameras positioned to capture overlapping fields of view, integrated with a processor that applies corrective transformations to provide a fused image with a wider field of view, addressing the limitations by using micro cameras, sensors for orientation, and image processing to simulate natural vision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If optical design replicates human visual FOV, then field of view is improved, but device size and weight increase making it unsuitable for wearable display
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the wide field of view requirement into multiple segments by using multiple cameras (at least two, potentially three or more) arranged in an array. Each camera captures a portion of the total field of view, and the processor integrates these segments to create a composite wide-FOV image, avoiding the need for a single bulky optical system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-camera 2D imaging approach to a multi-camera 3D spatial arrangement. By positioning cameras at different locations (e.g., following the curvature of the skull or arranged in specific geometric patterns), the system captures spatial information from multiple dimensions, which are then integrated to achieve wide FOV without requiring each individual camera to have extreme optical parameters.
2Adaptability or versatility
If autofocus camera is used, then focus switching capability is improved, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic focus adaptation by using multiple cameras with different fixed focus distances (near-field and far-field cameras). The processor dynamically selects or blends images from different cameras based on the detected subject distance, eliminating the need for mechanical autofocus mechanisms while achieving instantaneous focus switching.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the focal parameter by selecting from multiple pre-configured focus states. Each camera is optimized for a specific focus distance, and the processor adjusts which camera's image is used based on the scene requirements, effectively changing the focus parameter without moving any lens elements.
3Area of stationary object
If single camera is used, then device simplicity is improved, but field of view is limited causing tunnel vision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the output images from multiple cameras into a single integrated wide-FOV image. The processor aligns, blends, and combines the individual camera feeds to create a seamless composite image that provides the user with an expanded field of view, making the multi-camera system functionally equivalent to a single wide-angle camera but with superior optical quality.
4Ease of manufacture
If camera is placed away from pupil center, then device mounting flexibility is improved, but viewing perspective becomes incorrect causing eye strain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the correct perspective by using multiple cameras positioned at different locations. Through processor-based image integration and perspective transformation, the system synthesizes an image that appears to originate from the pupil center, even though the physical cameras are mounted at flexible locations on the wearable device.
Data Source
AI summary
A visual system including a near-to-eye display supported by a frame adapted to be worn by a user such that each display is positioned proximate an eye of a wearer, a set of cameras supported by the frame, the cameras having different overlapping fields of view, and a processor coupled to receive images from the cameras and adapted to integrate and transform images from the set of cameras to provide a mosaic image for viewing on the display having a wider field of view than an individual camera provides.