Lens technology incorporating internal pan/tilt and zoom

Abstract

A lens that incorporates an internal optical pan and tilt mechanism using a Risley prism has been designed. A zoom mechanism that provides various ratios up to 10x has also been incorporated. The design of the lens allows any object in the field of view to be brought into the centre of the field and then zoomed onto. The lens design is scalable. The first variant was designed with a focal range of 2-10mm with a pan/tilt of 46° within a field of view of 90° in a pinhole lens configuration. Importantly the lens has an external stationary entrance pupil that leads to a compact form. A technology demonstrator has been built and its performance is discussed. Further developments of the lens technology are also discussed, including a 120° field of view variant with a 10x zoom.