Dual lens system having a light splitter
Imaging systems having multiple optical modules are provided. The FOVs, focal lengths, and/or sensors of the multiple optical modules may be designed to generate high quality images and images with arbitrary magnifications.
1. A system for capturing images, said system comprising:
an optical element configured to separate light into a first light beam and a second light beam;
a first lens module having a first focal length configured to focus the first light beam;
a second lens module having a second focal length configured to focus the second light beam, wherein the second focal length is different from the first focal length;
a first sensor configured to capture a first image from the first light beam focused by the first lens module onto the first sensor;
a second sensor configured to capture a second image from the second light beam focused by the second lens module onto the second sensor; and
one or more processors configured to:
receive a desired focal length;
modify the first image based on the desired focal length to generate a modified first image;
modify the second image based on the desired focal length to generate a modified second image; and
generate a combined image based on the modified first image and the modified second image, wherein the combined image has a field of view corresponding to the desired focal length.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first image has a first field of view and the second image has a second field of view different from the first field of view.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second field of view encompasses the first field of view or the first field of view encompasses the second field of view.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first light beam is a reflected part of the light and the second light beam is a refracted part of the light.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the first lens module is a telescope lens module and the second lens module is a wide-angled lens module.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein a center of the first image and the second image coincide.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the light passes through a single aperture prior to contact with the optical element.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to scale the first image by
the
desired
focal
length
the
first
focal
length
and the second image by
the
desired
focal
length
the
second
focal
length
.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to fuse the scaled first image and the scaled second image.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the combined image is comprised wholly of fused parts when the desired focal length is greater than the first focal length and the second focal length.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the combined image is comprised of an inner field of view comprised of fused parts and an outer field of view comprised of the first scaled image or the second scaled image, whichever has a wider field of view when the desired focal length is between the first focal length and the second focal length.
12. A method of capturing images, said method comprising:
separating, with aid of an optical element, light into a first light beam and a second light beam;
focusing, with aid of a first lens module having a first local length, the first light beam;
focusing, with aid of a second lens module having a second focal length, the second light beam, wherein the second focal length is different from the first focal length;
capturing, with aid of a first sensor, a first image from the first light beam focused by the first lens module onto the first sensor;
capturing, with aid of a second sensor, a second image from the second light beam focused by the second lens module onto the second sensor;
receiving a desired focal length;
modifying the first image based on the desired focal length to generate a modified first image;
modifying the second image based on the desired focal length to generate a modified second image; and
generating a combined image based on the modified first image and the modified second image, wherein the combined image has a field of view corresponding to the desired focal length.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein modifying the first image includes scaling the first image by
the
desired
focal
length
the
first
focal
length
and modifying the second image includes scaling the second image by
the
desired
focal
length
the
second
focal
length
.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the generating includes fusing the scaled first image and the scaled second image.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the combined image is comprised of an inner field of view comprised of fused parts and an outer field of view comprised of the first scaled image or the second scaled image, whichever has a wider field of view when the desired focal length is between the first focal length and the second focal length.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first light beam is a reflected part of the light and the second light beam is a refracted part of the light.
17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first lens module is a telescope lens module and the second lens module is a wide-angled lens module.
18. A method of combining images, said method comprising:
receiving, with aid of one or more processors, a first image generated by capturing a first light beam from a light source;
receiving a second image generated by capturing a second light beam of the light source, wherein the first and second images have different fields of view;
receiving a desired focal length;
modifying the first image based on the desired focal length to generate a modified first image;
modifying the second image based on the desired focal length to generate a modified second image; and
generating a combined image based on the modified first image and the modified second image such that the combined image has a field of view corresponding to the desired focal length.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein modifying the first image comprises scaling the first image based on the desired focal length and modifying the second image comprises scaling the second image based on the desired focal length.
20. A movable system, comprising:
a movable platform; and
the system of claim 1 configured to be mounted on the movable platform.