Multi-aperture foveated imaging

Opt Lett. 2016 Apr 15;41(8):1869-72. doi: 10.1364/OL.41.001869.

Abstract

Foveated imaging, such as that evolved by biological systems to provide high angular resolution with a reduced space-bandwidth product, also offers advantages for man-made task-specific imaging. Foveated imaging systems using exclusively optical distortion are complex, bulky, and high cost, however. We demonstrate foveated imaging using a planar array of identical cameras combined with a prism array and superresolution reconstruction of a mosaicked image with a foveal variation in angular resolution of 5.9:1 and a quadrupling of the field of view. The combination of low-cost, mass-produced cameras and optics with computational image recovery offers enhanced capability of achieving large foveal ratios from compact, low-cost imaging systems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Optical Imaging / instrumentation*
  • Optical Phenomena*