US6833843B2
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US
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Panoramic imaging and display system with canonical magnifier
Assignee: BIOTRONIX Inc
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Filing: 2001-12-03
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Granted: 2004-12-21
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Expires: 2021-12-03
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides an image acquisition and viewing system that employs a fish-eye lens and an imager, such as, a CCD array, to obtain a wide angle image, e.g., an image of a hemispherical field of view. The system of the invention further includes a primary display for displaying the image, and a secondary display for presenting a perspective-corrected view of a selected portion of the image. A processor effects correction of a selected portion of the image for distortions introduced by the fish-eye lens by utilizing methods according to the teachings of the invention. The processor further effects the display of the image and its perspective-corrected portion thereof on the primary and the secondary displays, respectively. Moreover, the processor effects the display of a graphical object on the first display to delineate the portion that is presented on the secondary display. This allows a viewer to view simultaneously the image and the perspective-corrected portion, thereby gleaning information regarding the context of the perspective-corrected portion within the entire image while viewing it.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Mojaver
- 👤 Steven Branson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 19:39
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T3/00; H; H04; H04N; H04N23/00; H04N23/58; H04N23/60; H04N23/698; H04N5/00; H04N5/222; H04N5/262; H04N5/2628
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
143 words
A device for providing a perspective-corrected view of at least a portion of a wide angle image, comprising: an image-capturing device having a fish-eye lens for generating the wide angle image as a projection of at least a section of a viewing hemisphere associated with the lens onto an image plane, a processor coupled to the image capturing device that receives the image, the processor further comprising: a first display module for displaying the wide angle image, and a second display module for displaying a perspective-corrected view of portion of the image, the processor further comprising a correlation module for displaying a graphical object on the displayed wide angle image that identifies the selected portion of the image displayed in the perspective-corrected view, wherein the processor generates said perspective-corrected view from a vantage point offset relative to a center of said viewing hemisphere.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
143 words
A device for providing a perspective-corrected view of at least a portion of a wide angle image, comprising: an image-capturing device having a fish-eye lens for generating the wide angle image as a projection of at least a section of a viewing hemisphere associated with the lens onto an image plane, a processor coupled to the image capturing device that receives the image, the processor further comprising: a first display module for displaying the wide angle image, and a second display module for displaying a perspective-corrected view of portion of the image, the processor further comprising a correlation module for displaying a graphical object on the displayed wide angle image that identifies the selected portion of the image displayed in the perspective-corrected view, wherein the processor generates said perspective-corrected view from a vantage point offset relative to a center of said viewing hemisphere.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor further comprises a scale adjuster that applies to said perspective-corrected view a user-adjustable magnification.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The device of claim 2 , wherein the processor generates the perspective-corrected view of a portion of the image by transforming that portion according to a defined magnification and an angle for viewing a section of the hemisphere corresponding to that image portion from said offset vantage point.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The device of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface module coupled to the processor for selecting a portion of the image to be displayed as a perspective corrected view.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The device of claim 4 , wherein the user interface allows selecting a magnification for viewing the perspective-corrected portion of the image.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The device of claim 1 , wherein the wide angle image is a fish-eye image.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The device of claim 6 , wherein the image-capturing device further comprises an imager coupled to the fish-eye lens for converting optical photons collected by the lens from the field of view into electrical signals representing an image of the field of view.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The device of claim 7 , wherein the imager can be any of a CCD array, a CMOS array, or a thermal imaging device.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The device of claim 7 , wherein the imager has a resolution in a range of about one million to about 100 million effective pixels per square inch.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
173 words
The device of claim 6 , wherein the processor generates the perspective-corrected view by mapping a point (u,v) on an undistorted image plane corresponding to a perspective-corrected portion of a distorted image to a point (x,y) on a plane corresponding to the distorted image, the mapping is provided by the following equations: x=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))cos( d 0 ) y=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))sin( d 0 ) t=[Dd +sqrt( D 2 d 2 −( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 )( D 2 −1))]/( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 ) β 0 =arctan(− D cos(β)+ dt cos(β)− vt sin(β), 1) δ 0 =arctan(− D sin(β)+ dt sin(β)+ vt cos(β), ut )+δ where β and δ are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to the center of the undistorted image, β 0 and δ 0 are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to a pixel (u,v) in the undistorted image, d is a magnification factor, D is a level of undistortion, and R is the radius of the fisheye image.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
38 words
The device of claim 10 , wherein each of the distorted and undistorted image planes includes a two-dimensional array of pixels providing a digital luminance map corresponding to the image or a perspective-corrected portion of the image, respectively.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
53 words
The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor generates the luminance value of a pixel corresponding to the point (u,v) by calculating a weighted average of luminance values of two or more pixels surrounding the point (x,y), if the point (x,y) does not correspond to a pixel on the distorted image plane.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
129 words
A device for providing a perspective-corrected view of at least a portion of a wide angle image, comprising: an image-capturing device having a fish-eye lens for generating the wide angle image, a processor in communication with the image-capturing device, the processor correcting at least a portion of the image for distortions introduced by the fish-eye lens by mapping a point (u,v) on an undistorted image plane corresponding to a perspective-corrected view of the image portion to a point (x,y) on a distorted image plane corresponding to the image in accord with an angle for viewing a section of the hemisphere corresponding to the image portion from a vantage point offset from a center of the hemisphere and a distance between the vantage point and the center of the hemisphere.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
129 words
A device for providing a perspective-corrected view of at least a portion of a wide angle image, comprising: an image-capturing device having a fish-eye lens for generating the wide angle image, a processor in communication with the image-capturing device, the processor correcting at least a portion of the image for distortions introduced by the fish-eye lens by mapping a point (u,v) on an undistorted image plane corresponding to a perspective-corrected view of the image portion to a point (x,y) on a distorted image plane corresponding to the image in accord with an angle for viewing a section of the hemisphere corresponding to the image portion from a vantage point offset from a center of the hemisphere and a distance between the vantage point and the center of the hemisphere.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
146 words
The device of claim 13 , wherein the processor employs the following equations to effect the mapping between the point (u,v) and the point (x,y): x=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))cos( d 0 ) y=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))sin( d 0 ) t=[Dd +sqrt( D 2 d 2 −( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 )( D 2 −1))]/( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 ) β 0 =arctan(− D cos(β)+ dt cos(β)− vt sin(β), 1) δ 0 =arctan(− D sin(β)+ dt sin(β)+ vt cos(β), ut )+δ where β and δ are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to the center of the undistorted image, β 0 and δ 0 are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to a pixel (u,v) in the undistorted image, d is the magnification factor, D is the level of undistortion, and R is the radius of the fisheye image.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
173 words
A method for generating a perspective-corrected view of a portion of a fish-eye image, comprising: mapping a point (u,v) on an undistorted image plane corresponding to a perspective view of the image portion to a point (x,y) on a distorted image plane corresponding to the fish-eye image according to the following equations: x=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))cos( d 0 ) y=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))sin( d 0 ) t=[Dd +sqrt( D 2 d 2 −( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 )( D 2 −1))]/( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 ) β 0 =arctan(− D cos(β)+ dt cos(β)− vt sin(β), 1) δ 0 =arctan(− D sin(β)+ dt sin(β)+ vt cos(β), ut )+δ where β and δ are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to the center of the undistorted image, β 0 and δ 0 are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to a pixel (u,v) in the undistorted image, d is the magnification factor, D is the level of undistortion, and R is the radius of the fisheye image.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
173 words
A method for generating a perspective-corrected view of a portion of a fish-eye image, comprising: mapping a point (u,v) on an undistorted image plane corresponding to a perspective view of the image portion to a point (x,y) on a distorted image plane corresponding to the fish-eye image according to the following equations: x=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))cos( d 0 ) y=R (β 0 /( PI/ 2))sin( d 0 ) t=[Dd +sqrt( D 2 d 2 −( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 )( D 2 −1))]/( u 2 +v 2 +d 2 ) β 0 =arctan(− D cos(β)+ dt cos(β)− vt sin(β), 1) δ 0 =arctan(− D sin(β)+ dt sin(β)+ vt cos(β), ut )+δ where β and δ are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to the center of the undistorted image, β 0 and δ 0 are the zenith and azimuthal angles corresponding to a pixel (u,v) in the undistorted image, d is the magnification factor, D is the level of undistortion, and R is the radius of the fisheye image.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-12-21 | 2008-06-21 | 2008-12-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-12-21 | 2012-06-21 | 2012-12-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-12-21 | 2016-06-21 | 2016-12-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |