Patent Document ID: 20140218468
Application ID: 13856847
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A foveated imaging system ( 100 ), capable of capturing a wide field of view image and a foveated image, where the foveated image is a controllable region of interest of the wide field of view image, the system comprising: a. an objective lens ( 110 ), facing an external scene, configured to receive the incoming light from the external scene and to focus the light upon a beamsplitter; b. a beamsplitter ( 120 ), configured to split incoming light from an external scene into a wide field of view imaging pa − 1( 125 ) and a foveated imaging path ( 135 ); c. a wide field of view imaging path ( 125 ), the wide field of view imaging path comprising: i. a first stop ( 127 ), which limits the amount of light received in the wide field of view path from the beamsplitter ( 120 ); ii. a wide field-of-view imaging lens ( 130 ), configured to receive light from the stop ( 127 ) and form a wide field view image on a wide field of view imaging sensor; iii. a wide field-of-view imaging sensor ( 140 ), configured to receive light from the wide field of view imaging lens ( 130 ); d. a foveated view imaging path ( 135 ), the foveated view imaging path comprising i. a second stop ( 137 ), which limits the amount of light received in the foveated imaging path from the beamsplitter ( 120 ); ii. a scanning mirror ( 150 ), capable of being controlled to reflect the light from the beamsplitter ( 120 ); iv. a foveated imaging lens ( 160 ), configured to receive a portion of the light, associated with a region of interest of the external scene, from the scanning mirror ( 150 ) and form a foveated image on a foveated imaging sensor; and v. a foveated imaging sensor ( 170 ), configured to receive light from the foveated imaging lens ( 160 ); whereupon the incoming light from the external scene passes through the objective lens ( 110 ) to the beamsplitter ( 120 ), whereupon the beamsplitter ( 120 ) divides the light into the two optical paths, a wide field of view imaging path ( 125 ) and a foveated imaging path ( 135 ), whereupon the light passes through the first stop ( 127 ) to the wide field of view imaging lens ( 130 ) along the wide field of view imaging path ( 125 ), where the lens focuses the wide field of view image upon the wide field of view imaging sensor ( 140 ), whereupon the light passes through the second stop ( 137 ) to the scanning mirror ( 150 ) along the foveated imaging path ( 135 ), whereupon the scanning mirror ( 150 ) reflects a region of interest toward the foveated imaging lens ( 160 ) through the beam splitter ( 120 ), whereupon the foveated imaging lens ( 160 ) focuses the foveated image upon the foveated imaging sensor ( 170 ); whereupon the two images are recorded by the sensors, a wide field of view image and a high resolution image of the region of interest within it.