Super-wide-angle cameras by image synthesis

Synthesizing left and right images is a popular method getting a wide-angle image, and this synthesis has conventionally been done by putting two images side by side. The conventional technique thus restricted the arrangement of the cameras and objects. The paper proposes a new method of acquiring a super-wide-angle image by synthesizing images. Left and right rectangular images are transformed into trapezoidal images, and the transform formula is derived from the relation between the position of the cameras and the object. This method enables the cameras to be set up anywhere and it provides an image nearly twice as wide as the one obtained with a conventional camera, giving an image with which is easy to see perspective. The measures reported in the paper made it possible to achieve a wide-angle-imaging system suitable for consumer products. By preventing discontinuity between images at their joint, it can create wide-angle images as good as those taken from a single viewpoint regardless of the positions of the cameras and the objects. Using a prototype video camera employing the image simulation of the new system, it has been established that the new system provides wide images with an angle of more than 180 degrees and good clarity