Patent ID: 8896667

Claim:
A stereoscopic imaging device that captures stereoscopic images of a scene, comprising: a left array of image sensing pixels pointed in a first direction; a right array of image sensing pixels pointed in a second direction, wherein the right array is separated from the left array by a stereo baseline, wherein the left and right arrays capture one or more stereoscopic images with an adjustable point of convergence and wherein any elements in the scene that are at the adjustable point of convergence have zero horizontal disparity between images captured by the left array and images captured by the right array, wherein there is a distance between the adjustable point of convergence and the stereoscopic imaging device; circuitry that identifies a region of interest in the scene, wherein there is a given distance between the region of interest and the stereoscopic imaging device; and convergence control circuitry that adjusts the adjustable point of convergence by adjusting the distance between the adjustable point of convergence and the stereoscopic imaging device using information on the given distance between the region of interest and the stereoscopic imaging device, wherein the convergence control circuitry adjusts the adjustable point of convergence of the left and right arrays from a first point of convergence to a second point of convergence without adjusting the magnitude of the stereo baseline, without adjusting the first direction, and without adjusting the second direction.