System and method for light-field imaging

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9900562-B2
Application number	US-201515321505-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 25, 2015
Priority date	Jun 25, 2014
Publication date	Feb 20, 2018
Grant date	Feb 20, 2018

Abstract

A light-field imaging system and a method for generating light-field image data are presented. The system comprising an imaging lens unit, a detector array and a polychromatic patterned filter located in optical path of collected light, being at an intermediate plane between the lens unit and the detector array. The method comprising: acquiring image data of a region of interest by passing input light coming from said region of interest through said imaging lens unit and said polychromatic patterned filter to be detected by said detector array to generate corresponding image data; and processing said image data to determined light components passing through different regions of said polychromatic patterned filter corresponding to different colors and different parts of the region of interest to provide light-field image data of said region of interest.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A light-field imaging system comprising:
a detector unit comprising an array of detector elements and configured and operable to generate image data indicative of light collected by the detector elements,
an imaging lens unit configured for collecting input light from a scene and generating a corresponding image of the scene on the detector array to produce the image data,
a polychromatic patterned filter defining a predetermined sensing matrix indicative of a configuration of the polychromatic patterned filter and located in an optical path of the collected light, being at an intermediate plane between the lens unit and the array of detector elements, the polychromatic patterned filter providing mixing of light properties between the detector elements, and
a control unit configured and operable for receiving and processing the image data from the array of detector elements, said image data being indicative of the mixing of light properties between the detector elements corresponding to the sensing matrix of the polychromatic patterned filter, applying data about said sensing matrix to the received image data thereby providing a reconstructed polychromatic light-field image of said scene,
wherein said control unit comprises a processing utility, said processing utility comprises a data optimizing module configured and operable to iteratively determine data indicative of the reconstructed image data in accordance with data about the polychromatic patterned filter to thereby determine a reconstructed polychromatic light-field data of said scene.

2. The light field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the polychromatic patterned filter comprises a superposition of two or more binary patterns, each of said two or more binary patterns corresponding to transmission or blocking of light of a corresponding wavelength range.

3. The light field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein said polychromatic patterned filter comprises superposition of at least first, second and third patterns each corresponding to filtering light of wavelength range such that first, second and third corresponding wavelength ranges provide a set of primary colors.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein said first, second and third wavelength ranges are selected from the following: red, green and blue; and cyan, magenta and yellow.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein said polychromatic patterned filter further comprises a pattern configured for filtering transmission in a fourth wavelength range, said fourth wavelength range comprising infra-red.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said processing utility is configured and operable for receiving gray-level image data corresponding to a scene being imaged from the detector array, and for processing said gray-level image data in accordance with said data about the polychromatic patterned filter to thereby generate said reconstructed polychromatic light-field data of said scene.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein said processing unit further comprises a dictionary selection module configured and operable to determine basis transformation operator in accordance with said data about the polychromatic patterned filter, said basis transformation operator being selected such that said reconstructed polychromatic light-field data is sparse in the selected basis.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein said dictionary selection module is configured and operable to determine basis transformation operator while preserving hue level within between dictionary atoms and acquired image data.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said data optimizing module is configured and operable for determining a four-dimensional image data L satisfying a condition I=ΦL where I is indicative of said gray-level image data and Φ is said sensing matrix indicative of configuration of the polychromatic patterned filter, and wherein L can be presented as L=Dx, where D is an appropriate basis transformation and x is its representation in the basis and has only few non-zero coefficients.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein said reconstructed polychromatic light-field image comprises four-dimensional image data enabling refocusing of the resulting image onto different portions of the scene.

11. The system of claim 1 , configured as a camera unit.

12. A method for generating light-field image data of a region of interest, the method comprising:
providing a polychromatic patterned filter at an intermediate plane between an imaging lens unit and a detector array;
collecting light indicative of an image data of the region of interest, applying predetermined spatial modulation to light components of different colors in the collected light, and directing spatially modulated light components of the collected light to form an image on the detector array to thereby generate image data of the region of interest; and
processing said image data utilizing data indicative of said predetermined spatial modulation and, said processing comprises identifying light components corresponding to different colors and different parts of the region of interest, and generating light-field image data of said region of interest,
wherein said processing comprises iteratively determining data indicative of a reconstructed image data in accordance with data about the polychromatic patterned filter to thereby determine a reconstructed polychromatic light-field data of said region of interest.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein said processing comprising determining said light-field image data in accordance with the acquired image data and representation of the acquired image data by a plurality of image atoms.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein said representation of the acquired image data by said plurality of image atom is sparse in said plurality of image atoms.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein said plurality of image atoms being selected to maintain hue level for said image data.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein said processing comprises determining a four-dimensional image data L satisfying a condition I=ΦL where I is indicative of said gray-level image data and Φ is a predetermined sensing matrix being indicative of configuration of the polychromatic patterned filter, and wherein L can be presented as L=Dx, where D is an appropriate basis transformation and x is its representation in the basis and has only few non-zero coefficients.

17. A method for generating light-field image data, the method comprising:
providing a polychromatic patterned filter at an intermediate plane between an imaging lens unit and a detector array;
acquiring image data of a region of interest by passing input light coming from said region of interest through said imaging lens unit and said polychromatic patterned filter to be detected by said detector array to generate corresponding image data; and
processing said image data to determined light components passing through different regions of said polychromatic patterned filter corresponding to different colors and different parts of the region of interest to provide light-field image data of said region of interest,
wherein said processing comprises iteratively determining data indicative of a reconstructed image data in accordance with data about the polychromatic patterned filter to thereby determine a reconstructed polychromatic light-field data of said region of interest.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said processing comprising determining said light-field image data in accordance with the acquired image data and representation of the acquired imag

Assignees

• Univ Ramot

Inventors

• Mendlovic David
• Schleyen Ran
• Mendlovic Uri Eliezer

Classifications

• H04N23/12

  with one sensor only · CPC title

• G02B5/201

  in the form of arrays · CPC title

• H04N9/643

  Hue control means, e.g. flesh tone control · CPC title

• H04N9/07

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G03B33/16

  using colour-pattern screens (integral with film G03C) · CPC title