Stanford University / L.A. Cicero

Researchers Develop 4D Cameras with Extra-Wide Field of View That could Improve Robotic Vision and Virtual Reality

Lifeinism
Lifeinism
Jul 30, 2017 · 2 min read

Currently, the cameras used by robots are not the most effective. They gather information in a strictly 2-dimensional method, looking at an environment from multiple perspectives before it can understand the objects materials, and movements around them, not an ideal way to see for driverless cars or drones. The newly designed camera can obtain the same information with only one, clear 4D image…

The camera technology is based on research done 20 years ago by Pat Hanrahan and Marc Levoy, both professors at Stanford, into light field photography, a type of photography that captures additional light information. Where a typical 2D camera takes an image focused on only one object, light field photography allows a camera to capture a 4D image, one that includes special information like the distance and direction of light to the lens. With this additional information, users can focus the picture to anywhere in the camera’s field of vision, up to 140 degrees with the new camera, after it’s been taken[…]


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