Determining Depth Information From A Single Camera

• Main Authors: Padmanabhan, Badrinath, Funatsu, Eiichi, Mann, Richard, Bonakdar, Alireza, Fowler, Boyd
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 10.06.2021
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

An optical system comprises an imaging lens for imaging an object to an image and a sensing pixel array for detecting lights from the object toward the image. The sensing pixel array comprises a first sensing pixel and a second sensing pixel, each sensing pixel comprising a microlens covering a one-dimensional series of photodiodes having n photodiodes. A photodiode at an end of the one-dimensional series of photodiodes of the first sensing pixel detects a first light from the object toward the image, and a photodiode at an opposite end of the one-dimensional series of photodiodes of the second sensing pixel detects a second light from the object toward the image, where the first light and the second light pass opposite parts of the imaging lens.