TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to imaging systems incorporating super resolution using fixed focus cameras. Moreover, the present disclosure also relates to display apparatuses incorporating super resolution using fixed focus cameras.

BACKGROUND

Imaging systems are widely used across several industries to capture images for many applications such as extended-reality (XR) applications, entertainment, surveillance, education, and the like. Generally, imaging systems employ multiple cameras for capturing the images of the real-world environment. Ideally, the images are required to replicate (i.e., emulate) human eye resolution, in order to provide a realistic viewing experience to a user viewing the images. The human eye resolution is quite high and is spatially variable, therefore replicating it properly is quite challenging.

Typically, in order to replicate human eye resolution using an imaging system, a given camera of the imaging system requires a certain focal length in addition to small pixel size. Since it is not feasible to decrease the pixel size beyond a given limit, the focal length is required to be increased. Having an increased focal length leads to a requirement of implementing automatic focus (AF) in the given camera, which automatically changes the focal length as required in order to change a focusing distance of the given camera. Additionally, large highly distorted lenses are often required to provide the increased focal length. Using such distorted lenses and implementing automatic focus considerably increases a complexity of the imaging system. An alternative approach is to utilise multiple-aperture systems (i.e., multiple cameras having apertures) having multiple prisms with dispersions, in the imaging system. Such a solution is impractical since it requires a large number of cameras and high computing power for capturing and processing images at a high rate (for example, such as 90 image frames per second). For example, some existing imaging systems utilise about 25 cameras having low resolution, wherein the 25 cameras are arranged as an array along with the multiple prisms. The multiple prisms cause undesirable chromatic aberration. Moreover, providing super resolution in such an example would require boosting single-camera resolution by approximately 25 times. This has considerable calibration requirements and is therefore challenging to implement as there is 25 times more possible mechanical movement of the 25 cameras than for a single camera. Additionally, the large number of cameras being utilised have a large disparity between them. The large disparity between the cameras adversely impacts an image quality of the output image which is generated using the images captured by the cameras.

Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks associated with conventional imaging systems.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to provide an imaging system incorporating super resolution using fixed focus cameras. The present disclosure also seeks to provide a display apparatus incorporating super resolution using fixed focus cameras. An aim of the present disclosure is to provide a solution that overcomes at least partially the problems encountered in prior art.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an imaging system comprising:

a first camera;

N second cameras, an optical axis of a given second camera being arranged at an angle that is lower than a predefined threshold angle with respect to an optical axis of the first camera; and

at least one processor configured to:control the first camera and the N second cameras to capture simultaneously a first image and N second images of a real-world environment, respectively, wherein a second field of view captured in a given second image is narrower than a first field of view captured in the first image and overlaps with a portion of the first field of view;determine a plurality of first overlapping portions of the first image that overlap with any one of the N second images, at least one second overlapping portion of the first image that overlaps with any two of the N second images, and a third overlapping portion of the first image that overlaps with each of the N second images;for a given overlapping portion of the first image, determine an overlapping portion of at least one of the N second images that overlaps with the given overlapping portion of the first image; andprocess the given overlapping portion of the first image and the overlapping portion of the at least one of the N second images to generate a corresponding portion of an output image.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display apparatus comprising:

at least one light source per eye;

a first camera per eye;

N second cameras per eye, an optical axis of a given second camera being arranged at an angle that is lower than a predefined threshold angle with respect to an optical axis of the first camera; and

at least one processor configured to:control the first camera and the N second cameras to capture simultaneously a first image and N second images of a real-world environment, respectively, wherein a second field of view captured in a given second image is narrower than a first field of view captured in the first image and overlaps with a portion of the first field of view;determine a plurality of first overlapping portions of the first image that overlap with any one of the N second images, at least one second overlapping portion of the first image that overlaps with any two of the N second images, and a third overlapping portion of the first image that overlaps with each of the N second images;for a given overlapping portion of the first image, determine an overlapping portion of at least one of the N second images that overlaps with the given overlapping portion of the first image;process the given overlapping portion of the first image and the overlapping portion of the at least one of the N second images to generate a corresponding portion of an output image; anddisplay the output image via the at least one light source.

Embodiments of the present disclosure substantially eliminate or at least partially address the aforementioned problems in the prior art, and enable the imaging system and the display apparatus having the first camera and the N second cameras to effectively provide super resolution in the output image using foxed focus cameras, wherein the output image emulates human-eye resolution.

Additional aspects, advantages, features and objects of the present disclosure would be made apparent from the drawings and the detailed description of the illustrative embodiments construed in conjunction with the appended claims that follow.

It will be appreciated that features of the present disclosure are susceptible to being combined in various combinations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

