Patent Document ID: 8106936
Application ID: 12049068
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A low-latency, high-resolution, continuous motion full 360 degree panoramic video imaging and display system, comprising: a plurality of high-resolution video cameras, each video camera generating an at least 500 kilopixel video camera image signal as a digital stream of individual pixels representative of images in the field of view of the respective video camera; a support for positioning the plurality of video cameras at predetermined angular locations around the support to enable the plurality of video cameras to together generate digital pixel stream video camera image signals encompassing a full 360 degree field of view around the plurality of video cameras; a communication link between the plurality of video cameras and an image processor for communicating the digital pixel stream video camera image signals from the plurality of video cameras to the image processor; the image processor receiving the digital pixel stream video camera image signals from each of the plurality of video cameras and processing the digital pixel stream video camera image signals from each of the plurality of video cameras in parallel with the digital pixel stream video camera image signals from others of the plurality of video cameras to generate combined video signals, with the image processor being configured to perform: image correction of the digital pixel stream video camera image signals by which pixel corrections are executed and completed as the digital pixel stream video camera image signals are received and prior to a full frame of pixels being received for image correction; cylindrical wrapping of the digital pixel stream video camera image signals by which cylindrical wrapping of the pixels is executed and completed as the digital pixel stream video camera image signals are received and prior to a full frame of pixels being received for cylindrical wrapping; image blending of the digital pixel stream video camera image signals by which the blending of pixels is executed and completed as the digital pixel stream video camera image signals are received and prior to a full frame of pixels being received for image blending; pixel binning of the digital pixel stream video camera image signals by which the binning of pixels is executed and completed as the digital pixel stream video camera image signals are received and prior to a full frame of pixels being received for pixel binning; and image cropping of the digital pixel stream video camera image signals by which the cropping of pixels is executed and completed as the digital pixel stream video camera image signals are received and prior to a full frame of pixels being received for image cropping; a communication link between the image processor and a display device for communicating the combined video signals to the display device; and the display device displaying the combined video signals as full, distortion-corrected and seamless combined 360 degree panoramic images in the field of view around the plurality of video cameras, with each combined 360 degree panoramic image being displayed from the digital pixel stream video camera image signals within not more than 100 milliseconds from the imaging event and with each of the video camera images that together comprise the combined 360 degree panoramic image reflecting the same instant in time.