Correlation Plenoptic Imaging Decouples Spatial Angular Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plenoptic image capturing techniques produce low-resolution images due to the inverse proportionality between spatial and angular resolutions, limiting the number of high-resolution views and depth of field, and cannot decouple these resolutions to achieve high-resolution images with a large number of views.
Innovation Solution
The Correlation Plenoptic Imaging (CPI) process involves splitting a primary light beam into two distinct beams, directing them towards separate sensors to capture angular and spatial measures independently, allowing for decoupled spatial and angular resolutions and enabling high-resolution image capture with a maximum depth of field and focal rescaling capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single sensor is used to simultaneously capture spatial and angular measures, then the device complexity is reduced, but the spatial resolution and angular resolution are inversely proportional, resulting in low-resolution images
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single sensor into two separate sensors: a first sensor dedicated to capturing spatial measures and a second sensor dedicated to capturing angular measures. This segmentation allows each sensor to be optimized for its specific function, eliminating the inverse proportionality between spatial and angular resolution that occurs when a single sensor must share its resolution capability between both measures.
2Reliability
If conventional plenoptic techniques are used, then the depth of field can be extended, but the number of high-resolution views is limited due to the inverse proportionality between spatial and angular resolutions
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the sensing function into two separate sensors, the system can capture both spatial and angular information at high resolution simultaneously. This enables the generation of a large number of high-resolution views from the captured data, as the angular resolution is no longer constrained by the spatial resolution requirements of a single sensor.
3Measurement precision
If focal plane position and depth of field are adjusted using conventional lenses, then image quality can be optimized, but these parameters cannot be changed after image capture
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary capture of both spatial and angular measures simultaneously at high resolution. This preliminary action of capturing complete plenoptic information enables subsequent flexible processing where the focal plane position and depth of field can be adjusted after capture by processing the angular measure data, without requiring physical lens adjustments.
Data Source
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AI summary
A process and device for the plenoptic capture of photographic or cinematographic images are described, both based on the correlation measure or "Correlation Plenoptic Imaging" (CPI), comprising the steps of splitting a primary light beam coming from at least one light source in at least two distinct light beams, directing said at least two distinct light beams towards at least two distinct capturing sensors to capture images, so that at least one first light beam is directed towards at least one capturing sensor to capture an angular measure of a scene and at least one second light beam is directed towards at least one capturing sensor to capture a spatial measure of said scene, said angular measure being adapted to provide the propagation direction of the light beam coming from the scene, said spatial measure being adapted to provide the conventional two-dimensional capture of the image of the scene.