Apple Inc.

Boris Morgenstein

Zafrir Mor

Refael Della Pergola

Assaf Avraham

Gregory A Cohoon

Yuval Tsur

Andrew T Herrington

Yohai Zmora

Gidi Lasovski

David Pawlowski

Tom Levy

Ali M Khan

One disclosed embodiment includes techniques for temperature-dependent reference image correction in structured light projectors that may be used for generating three-dimensional (3D) scene depth maps. The techniques disclosed herein include receiving an indication of a temperature (e.g., an actual current operating temperature or a change in the current operating temperature relative to an established reference temperature) associated with one or more components of a projector and then determining, based on the temperature indication, an amount of adjustment needed to correct a reference pattern image based on an estimated effective focal length change of the projector. Next, a reference pattern image may be appropriately adjusted, e.g., based on the determined amount of effective focal length adjustment caused by the current operating temperature of the projector, to generate a corrected reference image, which may then be used to generate a more accurate 3D scene depth maps at the projector's current operating temperature.

Systems and methods for performing temperature-dependent reference image correction for light projectors

An optical apparatus includes a transparent envelope having opposing first and second faces. An electro-optic material is contained within the transparent envelope and includes molecules oriented in respective predefined directions selected so as to form a geometric-phase structure across an area of the transparent envelope. First and second transparent electrodes are disposed respectively across the first and second faces of the transparent envelope. A controller is coupled to apply a voltage between the first and second transparent electrodes that is sufficient to displace the molecules of the electro-optic material from the predefined directions.

Switchable flood and spot illuminator

An optoelectronic device includes a semiconductor substrate, an array of optical emitters arranged on the substrate in a two-dimensional pattern, a projection lens and a diffractive optical element (DOE). The projection lens is mounted on the semiconductor substrate and is configured to collect and focus light emitted by the optical emitters so as to project optical beams containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the optical emitters on the substrate. The DOE is mounted on the substrate and is configured to produce and project multiple overlapping replicas of the pattern.

Overlapping pattern projector

Growing community of inventors

Tel Aviv, Israel

Boris Morgenstein