A Real-Time Multiaperture Omnidirectional Visual Sensor Based on an Interconnected Network of Smart Cameras

Abstract

Abstract-Centralized and multilevel implementations of the Panoptic omnidirectional multiaperture visual system were previously presented by us, relying on the transmission of all camera outputs to a single central processing node for omnidirectional image and video reconstruction. In this paper, a novel distributed and parallel implementation of the omnidirectional vision reconstruction algorithm of the Panoptic system is presented. The parallel approach aims to overcome the scalability problems and memory bandwidth limitations of the centralized approach. The real-time hardware implementation is presented for camera modules with image processing, memory, and interconnectivity features. A methodology is introduced for the arrangement of camera modules with interconnectivity feature into a target interconnection network topology. A unique custom-made multiple-field-programmable gate array hardware platform is introduced for the implementation of an interconnected network of 49 camera prototype Panoptic system. A hardware architecture based on presented hardware platform enabling the real-time implementation of the blending algorithms is presented, along with the imaging results and resource utilization. The realtime implementation results of the implemented omnivision application on the mentioned prototype are demonstrated.

An Insect Eye Inspired Miniaturized Multi-Camera System for Endoscopic Imaging

“…There are different hardware approaches in literature for ray tracing based panorama generation methods [20], [22], [28]. In [20] and [22], a central processing unit generates the final panorama by utilizing a pipeline structure.…”

“…In [20] and [22], a central processing unit generates the final panorama by utilizing a pipeline structure. In [28], a distributed approach is reported, where each node has a camera connection and sends the pixel values to a central unit via a network on chip. Since we are targeting a miniaturized system which should be also affordable in ASIC design, we also utilize a pipeline structure.…”

“…In [20], [22] and [28], the methods proposed to manufacture multi-camera compound eye mimicking imaging systems, however those systems are not optimized for miniaturization in imaging specific defined ranges. In the mentioned systems, the cameras are placed in a layered method without taking into account what is the desired distance of the objects that will be imaged and what is the physical sizes of the individual camera units.…”

Real-Time Omnidirectional Imaging System with Interconnected Network of Cameras

“…Detailed discussion on how the different pixelation scheme effects the distributed algorithm and corresponding memory demand for increased resolution and number of the cameras can be seen in [29].…”

“…For the telepresence system, full XGA resolution (1024 × 768) of the [29] will be used. The system can be divided into two parts, one is the server application and the second one is the client application.…”