Sony Corpotation

Interactive Pictures Corporation

Danny A McCall

H Lee Martin

A method and apparatus for capture of a spherical image is disclosed. The present invention includes at least one camera having a lens with at least a 180&#xb0; field-of-view for capturing a hemispherical image. In a first embodiment, a second hemispherical image is created corresponding to a mirror image of the hemispherical image captured by the camera. In a second embodiment, two back-to-back cameras capture first and second hemispherical images, respectively. In both embodiments, a converter combines the two images along their outside edges to form a single, spherical image. Finally, the converter stores the complete spherical image for later retrieval and perspective corrected viewing.

Omniview motionless camera orientation system

A method and apparatus for capture of a spherical image is disclosed. The present invention includes at least one camera having a lens with at least a 180.degree. field-of-view for capturing a hemispherical image. In a first embodiment, a second hemispherical image is created corresponding to a mirror image of the hemispherical image captured by the camera. In a second embodiment, two back-to-back cameras capture first and second hemispherical images, respectively. In both embodiments, a converter combines the two images along their outside edges to form a single, spherical image. Finally, the converter stores the complete spherical image for later retrieval and perspective corrected viewing.

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Knoxville, TN, United States of America

Danny A McCall