Method and apparatus for a compact and high resolution mind-view communicator

1. A multi-camera imaging apparatus comprising:

a first camera having a first color filter array, a first field of view, a first image resolution, and a first plurality of image pixels, for capturing at least one first scene image;

a second camera having a second color filter array, a second field of view, a second image resolution, and a second plurality of image pixels, for capturing at least one second scene image, wherein the at least one second image resolution is higher than the at least one first image resolution, wherein the first and the second fields of view at least partially overlap;

a third camera having a third color filter array, a third field of view, a third image resolution, and a third plurality of image pixels, for capturing at least one third scene image, wherein the at least one third image resolution is higher than the at least one second image resolution, and the third field of view is a subset of the second field of view;

a memory unit;

at least one processor in communication with the first camera, the second camera, the third camera, and the memory unit, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive the at least one first scene image from the first camera, the at least one second scene image from the second camera, and the at least one third scene image from the third camera,

associate a subset of the at least one first scene image to a first subset of the at least one second scene image,

associate a second subset of the at least one second scene image to a subset of the at least one third scene image,

generate, based upon at least the at least one first scene image and the associated subset of the at least one first scene image to the first subset of the at least one second image, a first output scene image that is within the first field of view and in such a manner that a higher level of scene detail can be seen in at least one subset of the first output scene image than the level of detail that can be seen in the corresponding subset in the at least one first scene image, wherein the at least one subset of the first output scene image is not within the second field of view, and

save the first output scene image in the memory unit.

2. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one third scene image corresponds to a subset of the scene that is also within the field of view of the first camera.

3. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the third camera including:

an optical unit to collect light from at least one subset of the scene,

an optical device for receiving the collected light from the at least one subset of scene by the optical unit and redirecting at least a portion of the received light,

an image sensor for receiving the redirected light by the optical device and generating a scene image, wherein the image sensor is in communication with the at least one processor.

4. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 3 further including an actuator, in contact with the optical device, in communication with the at least one processor, to adjust the direction of the redirected light by the optical device.

5. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the optical device is a prism.

6. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the optical device is a mirror.

7. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the optical device is a MEMS device.

8. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 1 , further including at least one accelerometer for monitoring a movement of at least one of the three cameras, wherein the at least one accelerometer is in communication with the at least one processor.

9. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second field of view is a subset of the first field of view.

10. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second field of view is two to five times smaller than the first field of view.

11. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the third field of view is two to five times smaller than the first field of view.

12. An imaging method for seeing more details in a scene using a multi-camera imaging device, comprising:

capturing a first scene image with a first camera, the first camera having a first color filter array and a first field of view, and the first scene image having a first image resolution and a first plurality of image pixels;

capturing a second scene image with a second camera, the second camera having a second field of view and a second color filter array, and the second scene image having a second image resolution and a second plurality of image pixels, wherein the second image resolution is higher than the first image resolution, and wherein the first and the second fields of view at least partially overlap;

capturing a third scene image with a third camera, the third camera having a third color filter array and a third field of view, and the third scene image having a third image resolution and a third plurality of image pixels, wherein the third image resolution is higher than the first image resolution, and wherein the third field of view is a subset of the second field of view,

receiving the first, the second and the third scene images by at least one processor,

associating, via the at least one processor, a subset of the first scene image to a first subset of the second scene image,

associating, via the at least one processor, a second subset of the second scene image to a subset of the third scene image,

generating a first output scene image that is within the first field of view, based upon at least the first scene image and the associated subset of the first scene image to the first subset of the second image, in such a manner that more scene details can be seen in at least one subset of the first output scene image than the corresponding subset in the first scene image, wherein the at least one subset of the first output scene image is not within the second field of view, and

saving the first output scene image.

13. The imaging method of claim 12 wherein the image resolution of the third scene image is higher than the image resolution of the second scene image.

14. The imaging method of claim 12 further including extracting the depth information of a subset of the scene based on the first and the second scene images.

15. A multi-camera imaging apparatus comprising:

a first camera having a first color filter array, a first field of view, a first image resolution, and a first plurality of image pixels, for capturing at least one first scene image;

a second camera having a second color filter array, a second field of view, a second image resolution, and a second plurality of image pixels, for capturing at least one second scene image, wherein the at least one second image resolution is higher than the at least one first image resolution, wherein the first and the second fields of view at least partially overlap;

a memory unit;

at least one processor in communication with the first camera, the second camera, and the memory unit, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive the at least one first scene image from the first camera, and the at least one second scene image from the second camera,

associate a subset of the at least one first scene image to a first subset of the at least one second scene image,

generate, based upon at least the at least one first scene image and the associated subset of the at least one first scene image to the first subset of the at least one second image, a first output scene image that is within the first field of view and in such a manner that a higher level of scene detail can be seen in at least one subset of the first output scene image than the level of detail that can be seen in the corresponding subset in the at least one first scene image, wherein the at least one subset of the first output scene image is not within the second field of view, and

save the first output scene image in the memory unit.

16. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to extract the depth information of a subset of the scene based on the at least one first and the at least one second scene images.

17. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the second field of view is two to five times smaller than the first field of view.

18. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to initiate an image registration procedure.

19. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 15 wherein the second field of view is a subset of the first field of view.

20. The multi-camera imaging apparatus of claim 15 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate a second output scene image that is within the second field of view and in such a manner that a higher level of scene detail can be seen in at least one subset of the second output scene image than the level of detail that can be seen in the corresponding subset in the at least one second scene image.