Integral three-dimensional image capture equipment with closely positioned lens array and image sensor.

We have developed a compact integral three-dimensional (3D) imaging equipment that positions the lens array and image sensor in close proximity to each other. In the conventional scheme, a camera lens is used to project the elemental images generated by the lens array onto the image sensor. In contrast, the imaging equipment presented here combines the lens array and image sensor into one unit and makes no use of a camera lens. This scheme eliminates the resolution deterioration and distortion caused by the use of a camera lens and improves, in principle, the quality of the reconstructed 3D image. We captured objects with this imaging equipment and displayed the reconstructed 3D images using display equipment consisting of a liquid crystal panel and a lens array. The reconstructed 3D images were found to have appropriate motion parallax.

Integral three-dimensional television with video system using pixel-offset method.

Integral three-dimensional (3D) television based on integral imaging requires huge amounts of information. Previously, we constructed an Integral 3D television using Super Hi-Vision (SHV) technology, with 7680 pixels horizontally and 4320 pixels vertically. We report on improved image quality through the development of video system with an equivalent of 8000 scan lines for use with Integral 3D television. We conducted experiments to evaluate the resolution of 3D images using an experimental setup and were able to show that by using the pixel-offset method we have eliminated aliasing produced by full-resolution SHV video equipment. We confirmed that the application of the pixel-offset method to integral 3D television is effective in increasing the resolution of reconstructed images.

Geometric analysis of spatial distortion in projection-type integral imaging.

In projection-type integral imaging, positional errors in elemental images and elemental lenses affect three-dimensional (3D) image quality. We analyzed the relationships between the geometric distortion in elemental images caused by a projection lens and the spatial distortion in the reconstructed 3D image. As a result, we clarified that 3D images that were reconstructed far from the lens array were largely affected, and that the reconstructed images were significantly distorted in the depth direction at the corners of the displayed images.

Depth-control method for integral imaging.

We present a method for controlling the depth of three-dimensional (3D) images reconstructed by integral photography. Incoherent light is reflected from 3D objects, propagates through a lens array, and is captured as the first elemental images by a capturing device. The second elemental images of the 3D images are generated by numerical processing from the first elemental images in accordance with the desired depth. The optical reconstruction of 3D images at the desired depth by the second elemental images is confirmed experimentally.

Wave optical analysis of integral method for three-dimensional images.

We analyze by wave optics an integral method that produces three-dimensional (3D) images. The point light source is given at the pickup stage, and the light wave passing through each elemental lens is obtained at the display stage. The amplitude distributions of the waves from each elemental image are the same around a specific point where a 3D image is formed. Since the light waves approaching the image plane from different elemental lenses are incoherent, the synthesized value is the sum of the squared amplitudes of the waves. Therefore the modulation transfer function of this integral method is given by that of a single elemental lens.

Microlens arrays for integral imaging system.

When designing a system capable of capturing and displaying 3D moving images in real time by the integral imaging (II) method, one challenge is to eliminate pseudoscopic images. To overcome this problem, we propose a simple system with an array of three convex lenses. First, the lateral magnification of the elemental optics and the expansion of an elemental image is described by geometrical optics, confirming that the elemental optics satisfies the conditions under which pseudoscopic images can be avoided. In using the II method, adjacent elemental images must not overlap, a condition also satisfied by the proposed optical system. Next, an experiment carried out to acquire and display 3D images is described. The real-time system we have constructed comprises an elemental optics array with 54 H x 59 V elements, a CCD camera to capture a group of elemental images created by the lens array, and a liquid crystal panel to display these images. The results of the experiment confirm that the system produces orthoscopic images in real time, and thus is effective for real-time application of the II method.

Optical screen for direct projection of integral imaging.

We describe a way to display three-dimensional images by integral imaging using an ordinary projector. We first explain a method that uses a large-aperture converging lens, then we explain the proposed method that uses two sets of lens array. Based on the principle of this new approach, front projection as well as rear projection is possible. Only a proper viewing area can be formed on the optical screen by this method, which improves the brightness of images on the screen. The projector itself does not need an additional optical system. We report on the results of an experiment carried out to confirm the validity of the proposed method.

Calculation of holograms from elemental images captured by integral photography.

We describe a method in which holograms can be produced by calculation from images captured by integral photography (IP). We present a basic algorithm obtained by simulating IP reconstruction, in which conditions are set so as not to cause aliasing in the holograms after the calculations. To reduce the calculation load, we also propose a way to limit the range of calculation considering the distribution of light and a way to shift the optical field on the exit plane of microlenses in a lens array. Finally, by optical experiments, we confirm that three-dimensional images can be reconstructed from holograms calculated from an integral photograph of a real object captured with an IP camera.

Amplified optical window for three-dimensional images.

A proposed amplified optical window can form an observable three-dimensional image of an object in darkness. The window comprises two gradient-index (GRIN) lens arrays with an image intensifier between them. The length of the individual GRIN lenses that constitute the arrays is three fourths of the cycle of the meandering optical path on the input side and one fourth of the cycle on the output side. A primitive experimental result proved that the method produces three-dimensional images to be observed. This device would be used as a viewer for observing three-dimensional objects in a dark space without a camera and display equipment.

Integral three-dimensional television using a 2000-scanning-line video system.

We have developed an integral three-dimensional (3-D) television that uses a 2000-scanning-line video system that can shoot and display 3-D color moving images in real time. We had previously developed an integral 3-D television that used a high-definition television system. The new system uses -6 times as many elemental images [160 (horizontal) x 118 (vertical) elemental images] arranged at -1.5 times the density to improve further the picture quality of the reconstructed image. Through comparison an image near the lens array can be reconstructed at -1.9 times the spatial frequency, and the viewing angle is -1.5 times as wide.

Moire fringe reduction by optical filters in integral three-dimensional imaging on a color flat-panel display.

We propose a method to reduce the color moire fringes that are attributable to the structure of a color flat-panel display in integral three-dimensional imaging. The method uses two types of optical low-pass filter, diffuser and defocus. The effectiveness of the method was confirmed in an experiment. We describe a way to design these filters with moire's residual energy and video signal energy as indices and demonstrate the validity of the model, which combines two filters to reduce moire fringes.

Geometrical effects of positional errors in integral photography.

The effects of misarrangement of elements (elemental lenses and elemental images) that construct three-dimensional (3-D) images in integral photography are presented. If the lens arrays of the capturing system and the display system are not aligned accurately, positional errors of elements may occur, causing the 3-D image to be reconstructed in an incorrect position. The relation between positional errors of elements and the reconstructed image is derived. As a result, it is shown that a 3-D image is separated by local positional errors and blurred by global positional errors. In both local and global positional errors, 3-D images reconstructed far from the lens array are greatly affected.

Effects of focusing on the resolution characteristics of integral photography.

The effects of focusing on the resolution characteristics of integral photography (IP) are analyzed. First, there is an attempt to obtain the resolution characteristics of capture and display systems as the product of their modulation transfer functions (MTFs). Next, the relationship between this overall MTF and focusing during the capture is studied. The results show that, with focusing set at infinity, IP can provide three-dimensional images without remarkable resolution degradation over a wide range of depth.

Optical shifter for a three-dimensional image by use of a gradient-index lens array.

We propose a new function of the two-dimensional lens array that is composed of many gradient-index lenses. The array forms three-dimensional (3D) images. The characteristics of the 3D images depend on the length of the gradient-index lens. Especially, if the length of the lens is an odd-integer multiple of the half period of the optical path, 3D images are pseudoscopic with a reversed depth. The two lens arrays are positioned at a suitable distance, so that orthoscopic 3D images with the correct depth are formed in front of the lens array.

Viewing-zone enlargement method for sampled hologram that uses high-order diffraction.

We demonstrate a method of enlarging the viewing zone for holography that has holograms with a pixel structure. First, aliasing generated by the sampling of a hologram by pixel is described. Next the high-order diffracted beams reproduced from the hologram that contains aliasing are explained. Finally, we show that the viewing zone can be enlarged by combining these high-order reconstructed beams from the hologram with aliasing.