Method and system for determining the motion of an imaging apparatus
View Patent ↗Multiple motion sensor devices are included in an imaging apparatus. One or more of the motion sensor devices captures images and at least a portion of the sensor images are then processed to determine one or more motion vectors for the processed sensor images. At least one motion vector representing an amount of motion of the imager during image capture is generated when a predetermined portion of the motion vectors match.
1. An imaging apparatus comprising:
a motion sensor that includes a first optical sensor device configured to capture a first image corresponding to a first portion of an imaged object, and a second optical sensor device configured to substantially simultaneously capture a second image corresponding to a second portion of the imaged object; and
a lenslet array optically coupled to the motion sensor, the lenslet array comprising:
a first lens optically coupled to the first optical sensor device and having a first optical axis aligned with a first imaging path directed towards the first portion of the imaged object; and
a second lens optically coupled to the second optical sensor device and having a second optical axis aligned with a second imaging path directed towards the second portion of the imaged object, the second optical axis having a first angular displacement with reference to the first optical axis, wherein the first angular displacement is accommodated by mounting the second lens in a first tilted position with reference to the first lens;
an imager configured to capture, substantially simultaneously during capture of the first and second images, a desired image of the imaged object, the desired image having a larger field of view than the fields of view corresponding to each of the first or the second images; and
a processing device configured to receive motion information derived by the motion sensor from the first and the second images, and use the motion information to identify motion in two different portions of the imaged object for confirming that the motion occurred in the imaged object rather than in the imaging apparatus, during capture of the desired image by the imager.
2. The imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the motion sensor further includes a third optical sensor device configured to capture, substantially simultaneously to capture of the first and second images, a third image corresponding to a third portion of the imaged object, and wherein the lenslet array further comprises a third lens optically coupled to the third optical sensor device and having a third optical axis aligned with a third imaging path directed towards the third portion of the imaged object, the third optical axis having a second angular displacement with reference to the first optical axis, wherein the second angular displacement is accommodated by mounting the third lens in a second tilted position with reference to the first lens.
3. The imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is configured to generate multiple windows in at least a portion of the images corresponding to the first or the second portions of the imaged object and to determine a motion vector for each window.
4. The imaging apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processing device is configured to generate multiple sub-windows in at least a portion of the windows and to determine a motion vector for each sub-window contained inside a respective window.
5. The imaging apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the processing device is configured to generate one or more motion vectors representing an amount of motion of the imager when a predetermined number of the motion vectors associated with the sub-windows match each other.
6. The imaging apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the processing device is configured to use the motion vectors generated from each of the sub-windows to distinguish between motion present in the imaged object and motion present in the imaging apparatus.
7. An imaging apparatus comprising:
a motion sensor that includes a first optical sensor device configured to capture a first image corresponding to a first portion of an imaged object, and a second optical sensor device configured to capture a second image corresponding to a second portion of the imaged object; and
a lenslet array optically coupled to the motion sensor, the lenslet array comprising:
a first lens mounted on the image apparatus in a configuration selected to place a lens plane of the first lens substantially parallel with an image plane of an imaged object during image capture, the first lens operative to directing light received from the first portion of the imaged object on to the first optical sensor device; and
a second lens mounted on the image apparatus in a configuration selected to place a lens plane of the second lens in a first angular tilt with reference to the image plane of the imaged object during image capture, the second lens operative to directing light received from the second portion of the imaged object on to the second optical sensor device;
an imager configured to capture a third image of the imaged object; and
a processing device configured to receive motion information derived by the motion sensor from the first and the second images, and use the motion information to identify motion in two different portions of the imaged object for confirming that the motion occurred in the imaged object rather than in the imaging apparatus, during capture of the third image by the imager.
8. The imaging apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processing device is configured to distinguish between motion present in the imaged object and motion present in the imaging apparatus and generate a stabilized image of the imaged object based on motion present in the imaging apparatus while ignoring motion present in the imaged object.
9. The imaging apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising memory configured to store one or more motion vectors generated from the first and the second images.
10. A method of using an imaging apparatus for capturing an image, the method comprising:
using the imaging apparatus for capturing a first image corresponding to a first portion of an imaged object;
generating a first set of motion vectors from the captured first image;
capturing a second image corresponding to a second portion of the imaged object;
generating a second set of motion vectors from the captured second image;
capturing a third image of the imaged object, the third image having a larger field of view than the fields of view corresponding to each of the first or the second images;
using the first and second set of motion vectors to distinguish between motion in the imaged object and motion in the imaging apparatus; and
processing the third image for generating a stabilized image of the imaged object.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating the first set of motion vectors comprises dividing the first image into a first set of windows, and generating individual motion vectors for each of the first set of windows.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
determining if all of the generated individual motion vectors match each other; and
if not all matched, determining if a majority of the generated individual motion vectors match.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
if a majority of the generated individual motion vectors match, then using the motion vectors corresponding to the matched majority for generating the stabilized image of the imaged object.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the motion vectors that do not belong to the matched majority are recognized as representing motion of the imaged object and consequently are not utilized for generating the stabilized image of the imaged object.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein generating the first set of motion vectors further comprises dividing at least one window in the first set of windows into a set of sub-windows and generating therefrom, a motion vector for at least one of the sub-windows.
16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
dividing each of the first set of windows into a set of sub-windows and generating therefrom, individual motion vectors for each of the first set of sub-windows;
determining if all of the generated individual motion vectors for each of the first set of sub-windows match each other; and
if not all matched, determining if a majority of the generated individual motion vectors match each other.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
if a majority of the generated individual motion vectors for each of the first set of sub-windows match each other, then using the motion vectors corresponding to the matched majority for generating the stabilized image of the imaged object.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the motion vectors that do not belong to the matched majority are recognized as representing motion of the imaged object and consequently are not utilized for generating the stabilized image of the imaged object.