Stereo camera device with improved depth resolution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017366749-A1
Application number	US-201615188221-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 21, 2016
Priority date	Jun 21, 2016
Publication date	Dec 21, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A stereo camera device with tilted fields of view is provided, which includes a pair of camera devices located such that respective fields of view (FOVs) of the pair of camera devices are tilted away from each other, and at least partially overlapping in a common working FOV. The device further includes a processor which receives respective images from each of the pair of camera devices, combines respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV into stereo images.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A device comprising:
a pair of camera devices located such that respective fields of view (FOVs) of the pair of camera devices are tilted away from each other, and at least partially overlapping in a common working FOV; and, a processor configured to: receive respective images from each of the pair of camera devices; and, combine respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV into stereo images.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices is symmetric with respect to a centerline between the pair of camera devices.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein respective image sensors of each of the pair of camera devices are located on respective baseboards tilted away from each other.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein respective image sensors of each of the pair of camera devices are located on respective baseboards tilted away from each other, the respective baseboards connected using a connector that defines an angle between one or more of: (a) the respective baseboards and (b) the pair of camera devices.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein each camera device in the pair of camera devices comprises a respective rectilinear wide-angle lens.

6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein each camera device in the pair of camera devices comprises a respective image sensor and a respective lens, respective FOVs of each of the respective image sensor and the respective lens about matching each other.

7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein each camera device in the pair of camera devices comprise a respective image sensor and a respective wide-angle lens, image sensor FOVs being smaller than lens FOVs, the lens FOVs corresponding to the respective FOVs of each camera device in the pair of camera devices that at least partially overlap, a respective position of the respective image sensor being selected such that each of the image sensor FOVs are common to an overlapping portion of the lens FOVs.

8 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising: a first device configured to change tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices; and a second device configured to move respective image sensors of the pair of camera devices away from each other as tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices increases.

9 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising: a first device configured to change tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices; and a second device configured to move respective image sensors of the pair of camera devices away from each other as tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices increases, wherein the processor is further configured to control a respective tilting of each of the first device and the second device.

10 . The device of claim 1 , wherein respective image sensors of each pair of camera devices are mounted on a flat stereo board, and each camera device in the pair of camera devices comprises a respective tilted lens and a respective optical fiber which conveys light from the respective lens to a respective image sensor.

11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein respective image sensors of each of the pair of camera devices are mounted on a flat stereo board, and each camera device in the pair of camera devices comprises a respective tilted lens and a respective optical fiber which conveys light from the respective lens to a respective image sensor, wherein respective tilted lenses and respective optical fibers are components of an optical attachment to the flat stereo board.

12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to extract depth information from the respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV.

13 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a chassis, external components of the pair of camera devices located on a same side of the chassis.

14 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a mobile scanner.

15 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a mobile computing device.

16 . A method comprising:
at a device comprising a processor and a pair of camera devices located such that respective fields of view (FOVs) of the pair of camera devices are tilted away from each other, and at least partially overlapping in a common working FOV: receiving, at the processor, respective images from each of the pair of camera devices; and, combining, at the processor, respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV into stereo images.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: extracting, at the processor, depth information from the respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the device further comprises: a first device configured to change tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices; and a second device configured to move a respective image sensor of each of the pair of camera devices away from each other as tilting of the respective FOVs of the pair of camera devices increases, and the method further comprises, controlling, at the processor, a respective tilting of each of the first device and the second device.

19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program, wherein execution of the computer program is for:
at a device comprising a processor and a pair of camera devices located such that respective fields of view (FOVs) of the pair of camera devices are tilted away from each other, and at least partially overlapping in a common working FOV: receiving, at the processor, respective images from each of the pair of camera devices; and, combining, at the processor, respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV into stereo images.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein execution of the computer program is further for: extracting, at the processor, depth information from the respective portions of the respective images corresponding to the common working FOV.

Assignees

• Symbol Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Zolotov Serguei

Classifications

• H04N5/2226 Primary

  Determination of depth image, e.g. for foreground/background separation (determining depth by image analysis in general G06T7/50; segmentation by image analysis in general G06T7/10) · CPC title

• H04N23/58

  Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors · CPC title

• H04N23/698 Primary

  for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture · CPC title

• H04N23/45

  for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images · CPC title

• H04N13/296

  Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof · CPC title