| US 7,612,870 B2 | ||
| Single-lens aperture-coded camera for three dimensional imaging in small volumes | ||
| Emilio Castano Graff, Pasadena, Calif. (US); Francisco Pereira, Pasadena, Calif. (US); Morteza Gharib, San Marino, Calif. (US); and Michele Milano, Tempe, Ariz. (US) | ||
| Assigned to California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. (US) | ||
| Filed on Sep. 14, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/522,500. | ||
| Application 11/522500 is a continuation in part of application No. 11/365970, filed on Feb. 28, 2006. | ||
| Application 11/365970 is a continuation of application No. 09/935215, filed on Aug. 21, 2001, granted, now 7,006,132. | ||
| Application 09/935215 is a continuation in part of application No. 09/258160, filed on Feb. 25, 1999, granted, now 6,278,847. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/078750, filed on Feb. 25, 1998. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/717077, filed on Sep. 14, 2005. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/717101, filed on Sep. 14, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0195162 A1, Aug. 23, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); H04N 9/09 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 356—3.13 [356/141.5; 348/262] | 22 Claims |
| 1. A method, comprising:
imaging a scene using a plurality of the apertures arranged in a pattern of a specified shape by allowing light from the scene
to pass only through the plurality of apertures onto an imager;
associating each of the apertures with a different and separate portion of the imager, so that light which passes through
each aperture is imaged on a different portion of the imager;
capturing light reflected from or emitted by a large plurality of isolated distinguishable points of the scene that pass through
each of the plurality of apertures and that is received at the imager as a plurality of isolated distinguishable point images,
the isolated distinguishable point images each including a number of image points that is equal to a number of the plurality
of apertures; and
analyzing each image point in each isolated distinguishable point image from the imager to determine relative positions of
each isolated distinguishable point in the scene relative to each other isolated distinguishable point in the scene to map
a complete three dimensional image of the scene.
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