Design of a compact varifocal panoramic system based on the mechanical zoom method

Wang, Jia; Amani, Alireza; Zhu, Chengxi; Bai, Jian

doi:10.1364/ao.432617

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Using XY polynomials freeform surface, Ma et al [189] proposed a new zoom mechanism to achieve a panoramic zoom that does not deviate from the center of the FoV of the observation target. Afterwards, Wang et al [190] proposed a zoom panorama optical system designed by a mechanical zoom method, which achieved a focal length change of 3.8∼6mm and a maximum half-FoV ranging from 65 • to 100 • . The common zoom panoramic annular lens is based on the axial displacement between optical lens groups, which will enlarge the blind area.…”

Section: G Panoramic Annular Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on Panoramic Imaging and Its Applications in Scene Understanding

Gao¹,

Yang²,

Sheng³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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With the rapid development of high-speed communication and artificial intelligence technologies, human perception of real-world scenes is no longer limited to the use of small Field of View (FoV) and low-dimensional scene detection devices. Panoramic imaging emerges as the next generation of innovative intelligent instruments for environmental perception and measurement. However, while satisfying the need for large-FoV photographic imaging, panoramic imaging instruments are expected to have high resolution, no blind area, miniaturization, and multi-dimensional intelligent perception, and can be combined with artificial intelligence methods towards the next generation of intelligent instruments, enabling deeper understanding and more holistic perception of 360 • real-world surrounding environments. Fortunately, recent advances in freeform surfaces, thinplate optics, and metasurfaces provide innovative approaches to address human perception of the environment, offering promising ideas beyond conventional optical imaging. In this review, we begin with introducing the basic principles of panoramic imaging systems, and then describe the architectures, features, and functions of various panoramic imaging systems. Afterwards, we discuss in detail the broad application prospects and great design potential of freeform surfaces, thin-plate optics, and metasurfaces in panoramic imaging. We then provide a detailed analysis on how these techniques can help enhance the performance of panoramic imaging systems. We further offer a detailed analysis of applications of panoramic imaging in scene understanding for autonomous driving and robotics, spanning panoramic semantic image segmentation, panoramic depth estimation, panoramic visual localization, and so on. Finally, we cast a perspective on future potential and research directions for panoramic imaging instruments.

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Section: G Panoramic Annular Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on Panoramic Imaging and Its Applications in Scene Understanding

Gao¹,

Yang²,

Sheng³

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…The traditional zoom lens system, 22 which changes its focal length by moving a lens (group) axially, is inappropriate for compact HUDs because it requires a sizeable axial displacement and total track length. Compact varifocal elements include deformable membrane mirrors, liquid crystal lenses, and liquid lenses, which are paid attention to by near‐eye display researchers 23–26 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A varifocal augmented reality head‐up display using Alvarez freeform lenses

Liu,

Qiu,

Dong

et al. 2024

J Soc Info Display

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A crucial requirement of augmented reality head‐up displays (AR‐HUDs) is continuously adjustable virtual image distance (VID), which allows adaptation to various depths in road environments and thereby avoids visual fatigue. However, usual varifocal components for near‐eye displays are unavailable because AR‐HUDs require the varifocal component's aperture to be larger than 10 cm. This study considers the Alvarez lenses, which change the optical power by in‐plane sliding two freeform lenses. Under the paraxial assumption, classic Alvarez lenses can create a quadratic wavefront profile, but the large aperture and extensive diopter variation range required by AR‐HUDs lead to significant aberrations. Thus, the classic paraxial Alvarez lens design is extended by co‐optimizing Alvarez lenses with high‐order surface profiles and a primary freeform mirror. Therefore, a novel varifocal AR‐HUD containing Alvarez lenses with apertures larger than 15 cm is proposed. The AR‐HUD generates a varifocal plane whose VID can be continuously adjusted between 2.5 and 7.5 m, and another focal plane with a fixed VID at 7.5 m. In addition, merely one display panel is used for compactness. Finally, an AR‐HUD prototype with a reduced volume of 9.8 L was built. The expected varifocal performance and qualified imaging quality were experimentally verified through the field of view, VID, and image sharpness.

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“…The panoramic annular lens (PAL) system can realize a large field of view (FOV) and is widely used in many fields, including security and surveillance systems, vehicle mounted systems, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems [1,2]. With the advantages of light weight, convenience and low cost, UAVs have been widely used in military, security, civilian and other fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a compact infrared panoramic optical system for unmanned aerial vehicles

Yang

Wang

et al. 2022

Optical Design and Testing XII

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Infrared imaging system is widely used in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detection because of the advantage of precise monitoring and anti-interference. However, it is difficult to simultaneously achieve large field of view (FOV) and light weight. In this paper, we propose a compact infrared panoramic annular lens (PAL) system with a large FOV and a three-piece simple structure, which contains three standard spherical lenses and has a FOV of (30°~100°) ×360°, total length of 51.6mm, maximum diameter of 72 mm, focal length of 2.2mm, and F number of 3. The modulation transfer function of the system is higher than 0.7 at the Nyquist frequency, and F-theta distortion is controlled to less than 2%, which can meet the requirements of UAV detection. In addition, we use optical compensation method to achieve athermalized design in the range of -40℃~+80℃. The system possesses low sensitivity in tolerance, therefore we design a straight-tube mechanical structure for the system to simplify the assembly process and ensure the assembly precision at the same time. The PAL system we proposed is easy to be carried by UAVs due to its features of large FOV and lightweight, which can achieve accurate detection, large-scale monitoring, target recognition and tracking in harsh environments. It has important application value in military, security monitoring, machine vision and other fields.

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Design of a compact varifocal panoramic system based on the mechanical zoom method

Cited by 17 publications

References 21 publications

Review on Panoramic Imaging and Its Applications in Scene Understanding

Review on Panoramic Imaging and Its Applications in Scene Understanding

A varifocal augmented reality head‐up display using Alvarez freeform lenses

Design of a compact infrared panoramic optical system for unmanned aerial vehicles

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