Plenoptic Camera Front Lens Array Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cameras fail to capture the directional distribution of light rays, resulting in insufficient resolution due to the limited number of microlenses and the loss of border pixels, which restricts the ability to reduce the size of each microlens and increase image resolution.
Innovation Solution
A plenoptic camera design with an array of optical elements, including lenses and prisms, placed in front of the main lens, captures different views of the object field, allowing for higher resolution images by processing these views to adjust focus, viewing angle, and depth-of-field, and performing view-morphing operations to generate additional images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the number of microlenses is increased to improve image resolution, then the resolution increases, but the size of each microlens must be reduced which causes border pixels to be lost due to vignetting
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing microlenses behind the main lens (conventional plenoptic camera), this patent places an array of optical elements in front of the main lens. This inversion of the optical element positioning allows the system to capture light from different angles before it enters the main lens, avoiding the vignetting problem that occurs with conventional rear-mounted microlens arrays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimensional arrangement by positioning optical elements in front of the main lens at different lateral positions, creating a multi-dimensional light field sampling approach. This allows capturing directional information without the resolution-loss tradeoff inherent in conventional microlens arrays.
2Quantity of substance
If the size of each microlens is reduced to increase the number of lenslets, then the number of lenslets increases, but the border pixels are lost due to vignetting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by placing optical elements in front of the main lens rather than behind it. This allows for a larger number of optical elements to be used without suffering from vignetting-induced border pixel loss, as each element receives light from a different angle before the main lens.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the light field capture function into multiple discrete optical elements positioned in front of the main lens. Each optical element captures light from a specific angular range, and together they provide comprehensive light field information without the limitations of conventional microlens arrays.
3Loss of information
If a microlens array is placed behind the main lens to capture directional information, then directional distribution information is captured, but the resolution is limited due to the finite number of microlenses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional plenoptic camera design by placing the array of optical elements in front of the main lens rather than behind it. This allows the system to capture directional information while maintaining higher resolution, as the optical elements sample the light field before the main lens without being constrained by the microlens array limitations.
Solution Approach 2:
The array of optical elements acts as an intermediary between the object and the main lens, capturing directional information by receiving light from different angles. This intermediary structure enables the main lens to form high-resolution images while the optical elements provide the light field sampling function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design achieves significantly higher resolution images, reducing the number of effective images needed from 100 to 10-20 without losing quality, and allows for flexible trade-offs between view number and image size, enabling capture of high-resolution images with fewer lenses, thus overcoming the resolution limitations of prior art.
Implementation Method 1
an array of optical elements, including lenses and prisms, placed in front of the main lens, captures different views of the object field
Implementation Method 2
Each optical element in this array receives light from the object field from a different angle than the other optical elements in the array
Implementation Method 3
a photodetector array located at the image plane of the camera, which captures the received light to produce an image
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the present invention provides a plenoptic camera which captures information about the direction distribution of light rays entering the camera. Like a conventional camera, this plenoptic camera includes a main lens which receives light from objects in an object field and directs the received light onto an image plane of the camera. It also includes a photodetector array located at the image plane of the camera, which captures the received light to produce an image. However, unlike a conventional camera, the plenoptic camera additionally includes an array of optical elements located between the object field and the main lens. Each optical element in this array receives light from the object field from a different angle than the other optical elements in the array, and consequently directs a different view of the object field into the main lens. In this way, the photodetector array receives a different view of the object field from each optical element in the array.