Patent ID: 9578309
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: G03B,G06T,H04N

Claim:
1. A wide field-of-view stereoscopic camera system comprising: a support structure having M arms, where M is an integer equal to or greater than 2, each of the arms being spaced around a constructive circle and having a mount point, coincident with the circle, defining a radius of the circle, wherein the radius is half of a parallax distance, and the circle defines a horizontal plane and the circle defines a constructive right cylinder that contains that circle and that has an axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane and wherein each of the arms has a length adjustment to vary the distance between the center of the circle and the mount point; N digital cameras, wherein N is at least equal to M+1, each digital camera having a lens with a focal point and an optical axis and producing an image encoded in a digital output and having a horizontal field of view and a vertical field of view; the digital cameras mounted to the support structure so that each arm supports at least one digital camera so that (i) the focal point thereof is proximate to such arm's mount point and (ii) the optical axis thereof is generally tangent to the cylinder; wherein at least two of the digital cameras are mounted proximal to at least one mount point in orientations such that their vertical fields of view partially overlap so as to capture collectively an extended elevation field of view; and at least one image processor, coupled to the digital output of the N digital cameras, to form a stereo view pair, wherein the processor forms a left view from the digital outputs of a first set of the N cameras and forms a right view from the digital outputs of a second set of the N cameras, wherein the first and second sets are disjoint.