Vision Aid 3D Image Acquisition Depth Perception
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vision aids, such as retina implants and external camera systems, only process two-dimensional images, lacking three-dimensional information which limits their ability to restore or enhance visual faculty realistically.
Innovation Solution
A vision aid system incorporating a camera, electronic image processing, and an implantable stimulation device that adds spatial information to the image, allowing for three-dimensional representation of the environment by accentuating nearby objects and optionally masking distant ones, using techniques like stereoscopic image processing and inertial navigation to generate and display three-dimensional maps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional vision aids process only two-dimensional images, then the device complexity is low, but the loss of three-dimensional information occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from two-dimensional image processing to three-dimensional spatial representation. Multiple cameras are arranged in a stereoscopic configuration to capture depth information, and the processing unit generates three-dimensional maps from these multi-view images, enabling the vision aid to represent spatial relationships and distance information that were previously lost in conventional 2D systems.
2Reliability
If additional spatial information processing is added to restore visual faculty realistically, then the visual representation quality improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the visual processing task into distinct functional modules: multiple cameras capture images from different positions, the processing unit segments and analyzes these images to extract spatial information, and the stimulation device delivers targeted electrical impulses to specific retinal regions. This modular segmentation enables complex three-dimensional processing while maintaining manageable system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing unit serves as an intermediary between the camera system and the stimulation device. It receives raw images from multiple cameras, processes them to generate three-dimensional spatial maps, and translates this information into appropriate stimulation patterns for the retinal implant. This intermediary processing layer enables realistic visual representation by bridging the gap between optical capture and neural stimulation.
3Measurement precision
If three-dimensional image acquisition is implemented, then the measurement precision of spatial position improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining multiple cameras into a stereoscopic imaging system, where the images from different camera positions are processed together to generate three-dimensional spatial information. The processing unit merges the data from multiple views to calculate depth and spatial relationships, achieving high measurement precision for object position and distance while distributing the computational complexity across the system.
Data Source
AI summary
The task of providing a device which makes it possible for the natural visual faculty of a partially vision-impaired person to be restored or supported as realistically as possible by means of a visual aid or visual prosthesis is achieved with the visual aid according to the invention in that, beyond the pure acquisition of a two-dimensional image, additional information is included in the image processing. For this purpose, a visual aid system is proposed which, during the reproduction of the processed image, visualizes additional information regarding the spatial position and/or specific attributes of objects in the acquired image which is associated with objects in the acquired image. The present invention thus affords the advantage that a three-dimensional image of the current environment of the user can be acquired owing to the fact that the image visualized to the user by the visual aid system according to the invention comprises additional information, for example, about the relative distance of the objects contained in the image and a depth-selective representation of the acquired image can thus be achieved.