California Institute of Technology

Dana Dabiri

Francisco Pereira

David Jeon

Darius Modarress

Mory Gharib

Morteza Gharib

Darius Modares

A system and method for determining instantaneously the three-dimensional coordinates of large sets of points in space is disclosed. This system uses two or more CCD cameras (or any other type of camera), each with its own lens and pinhole. The CCD's are all arranged so that the pixel arrays are within the same plane. The CCD's are also arranged in a predefined pattern. The combination of the multiple images acquired from the CCD's onto one single image forms a pattern, which is dictated by the predefined arrangement of the CCD's. The size and centroid on the combined image are a direct measure of the depth location Z and in-plane position (X,Y), respectively. The use of a predefined pattern enables high speed computation through simple algorithmic procedures. Moreover, the use of CCD cameras allows for the recording of such datasets at the corresponding image frame rate, thus opening the use of the invention to the mapping of dynamical systems.

Aperture coded camera for three dimensional imaging

Determining instantaneously the three-dimensional coordinates of large sets of points in space using two or more CCD cameras (or any other type of camera), each with its own lens and pinhole. The CCD's are all arranged so that the pixel arrays are within the same plane. The CCD's are also arranged in a predefined pattern. The combination of the multiple images acquired from the CCD's onto one single image forms a pattern, which is dictated by the predefined arrangement of the CCD's. The size and centroid on the combined image are a direct measure of the depth location Z and in-plane position (X,Y), respectively.

A three-dimensional imaging system uses apertures through which images are projected. The image through each aperture is obtained by a different camera element. The camera elements can be totally physically separate, multiple receiving parts of a single camera, or a single camera which is effectively spatially modulated so that the single camera receives different images at different times. The outputs from the camera are used to form three-dimensional information about the object.

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Altadena, CA, United States of America

Dana Dabiri