Panoramic Camera Stitching for IMU-Stabilized 360° Views
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing body cameras, including those used by police, K-9 dogs, and robots, often suffer from blind spots, motion instability, and lack orientational awareness, making it difficult to provide a stable and natural first-person view of the environment.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a panoramic video stitching and stabilization system with multiple cameras positioned strategically on the user or object, using a virtual center point to align the view with the user's perspective, and incorporating laser orientation for remote guidance and illumination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single camera is used for body mounting, then the device complexity is low, but blind spots and lack of orientational awareness occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single camera system into multiple cameras positioned at different locations (front, back, left, right) to capture different fields of view. This segmentation eliminates blind spots and provides comprehensive orientational awareness while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular camera units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-point camera view to a multi-dimensional panoramic view by positioning cameras around the user's body. This dimensional expansion creates a 360-degree field of view that captures the environment in all directions, solving the blind spot problem while providing immersive first-person perspective.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cameras are used for panoramic coverage, then blind spots are eliminated, but motion instability increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple camera feeds into a single stabilized panoramic view using image stitching algorithms. This combining process integrates the data from all cameras while applying stabilization techniques to compensate for motion, thereby maintaining panoramic coverage without suffering from the instability that would result from simply displaying multiple separate feeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an image processing system as an intermediary between the multiple cameras and the final display. This intermediary performs tasks including image alignment, stitching, and stabilization, transforming the unstable multi-camera output into a coherent, stable panoramic view that eliminates blind spots while maintaining compositional stability.
3Measurement precision
If virtual center point alignment is implemented, then orientational awareness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-aligning system that automatically determines the user's orientation and adjusts the panoramic view accordingly. The virtual center point is dynamically calculated based on the user's head position and gaze direction, allowing the system to self-correct and maintain accurate orientational awareness without requiring manual calibration or complex external control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the parameters of the panoramic projection, including the virtual center point position and viewing angle, based on real-time sensor data from accelerometers, gyroscopes, and eye-tracking cameras. These parameter changes allow the system to adapt to user movement and maintain precise orientational awareness while managing processing complexity through efficient algorithms.
4Ease of operation
If laser orientation system is added for remote guidance, then navigation capability is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the laser orientation system with the existing camera and display components, allowing the same hardware to serve multiple functions. The laser provides remote guidance and navigation capabilities while the camera captures the environment and the display shows both the panoramic view and laser targeting information, eliminating the need for separate dedicated navigation equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical navigation aids with an optical laser system that projects directional guidance into the user's field of view. This substitution eliminates the need for physical compasses, maps, or manual pointing devices, providing intuitive laser-based orientation guidance that enhances navigation ease while managing system complexity through electronic rather than mechanical means.
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging system may include a plurality of networked imagers arranged in a geometric arrangement with respective fields of view covering part or all of a panoramic geometry, at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU) in communication with the networked imagers configured to generate orientation data indicating orientations of the plurality of networked imagers, and at least one processor in communication with the networked imagers and the at least one IMU. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a plurality of images from the plurality of networked imagers and combine the plurality of images into at least one combined image by positioning pixels of each of the plurality of images relative to pixels of the remaining plurality of images, associating the positioned pixels with the orientation data, and merging the oriented pixels of each of the plurality of images into the at least one combined image.