JP2006515128A - Stereo panoramic image capturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An imaging system including a plurality of first image capture devices. A plurality of overlapping linear images are captured and divided into two, the left half portions are joined and converted into a first equal rectangular image, and the right halves are joined and converted into a second equal rectangular image. The first equal rectangular image and the second equal rectangular image are displayed in a three-dimensional orientation, and a three-dimensional rectangular image is generated. Using this imaging system, it is possible to capture a plurality of continuous images and generate a rectangular full-motion rectangular image.

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a panoramic image capturing device, and more specifically to a panoramic image capturing device for generating a stereoscopic panoramic image.

  Panorama cameras are known in the art. Such cameras often use a single rotatable camera. Such an apparatus is suitable for still images, but typically produces blurred or distorted images when used to capture non-stationary objects. The use of an image capture system having a plurality of image capture devices is well known in the art. In this way, multiple images can be captured almost simultaneously and stitched together using processes known in the art. While such a system significantly eliminates the problems associated with capturing moving objects, such a system does not provide a means for generating a stereoscopic image.

  The use of “fish-eye” lenses to capture stereoscopic images is also known in the art. However, such images introduce significant distortion into the resulting image and capture relatively low quality images. Therefore, it would be desirable to generate a high quality panoramic image with little distortion.

  Usually, to capture a stereoscopic image, two imaging systems are positioned adjacent to each other to capture a particular image. Unfortunately, this method cannot be extrapolated to the point where a stereoscopic panoramic image is generated because one image capture device necessarily enters the field of view of an adjacent image capture device. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a panoramic image capture system that can be used to generate a stereo pair of panoramic images for stereoscopic display of a particular image.

  In an advantage provided by the present invention, the image capture system generates a stereoscopic video pair of panoramic images.

  The present invention has the advantage of providing an image capture system for generating seamless panoramic images.

  The present invention has the advantage of providing an image capture system for generating a moving stereoscopic panoramic image.

  The present invention has the advantage of providing a stereoscopic panoramic image with minimal distortion.

  The present invention has the advantage of providing an imaging system for full-motion, real-time panoramic stereoscopic imaging.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is desirable to provide an imaging system that includes a first image capture device, a second image capture device, and a third image capture device. This embodiment combines at least a first portion of a first image captured using a first image capture device with a portion of a second image captured using a second image capture device, Means are provided for generating a first combined image. Means are also provided for combining at least a second portion of the first image with at least a portion of the third image captured using the third image capture device to generate a second combined image.

  In a preferred embodiment, multiple image capture devices are used to generate multiple images, and each portion of the images is combined with a portion of the adjacent image to generate a first combined panoramic image. Similarly, the second portion of each image is combined with another portion of the adjacent image to produce a second combined panoramic image. Preferably, the first combined panorama image and the second combined panorama image are displayed in a stereoscopic orientation so as to generate a stereoscopic panoramic image. With the imaging system of the present invention, it is possible to capture a plurality of images and generate a full motion stereoscopic panoramic image.

  The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a camera (10) is shown having a body (12) made of plastic or other similar lightweight material. In a preferred embodiment, the body (12) is generally spherical with a diameter of preferably between about 0.001 and about 500 centimeters, more preferably between about 10 and about 50 centimeters. A plurality of lenses (14) arranged at approximately equal intervals over the surface of the main body (12) are provided. The lens (14) is preferably a circular lens having a diameter between about 5 angstroms and about 10 centimeters, more preferably between about 0.5 and about 5 centimeters. In a preferred embodiment, the lens is a model number BCL38C 3.8 millimeter microlens manufactured by CBC America, NY11725, Commack, Mall Drive 55. As shown in FIG. 2, lenses (14) are each associated with a charge coupled device (CCD) assembly (16) as is well known in the art. In a preferred embodiment, Rock2000. The GP-CX171 / LM CCD color board camera available from com is used, but any known image capture system may be used. Thus, for purposes of this disclosure, the lens (14) and / or the CCD assembly (16) can also be described as "image capture units" (26), (40), (54). As shown in FIG. 2, all of the image capture units (26), (40), (54) are processing units (CPU) that can receive images from the image capture devices (14) and / or (16). (22) is operably coupled. In the preferred embodiment, the CPU (22) is a Pentium® 4, 900 MHz class personal computer with an Oxygen GVX210 graphics card manufactured by 3Dlabs located in CA94086, Sunnyvale, Pontrero 480. The CPU can be of any type known in the art, but preferably utilizes quad buffering or page flipping software in a manner known in the art. The CPU (22) is coupled to the head mounted display (24). In a preferred embodiment, this is VFX3D manufactured by Interactive Imaging Systems located at NY14623, Rochester, Brighton Henrietta Townline Road 2166.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lenses (14) are dispersed from each other and are offset from each other by about 20 degrees along a generally arcuate path or line defined by the body (12). This offset, which can be about 5 to about 45 degrees along the direction of the generally arcuate path, causes each lens (14) and / or image capture unit (26), (40), (54) to be approximately It is possible to have a similar focus. Each lens (14) has a field of view of about 53 degrees with the laterally aligned field of view of the lenses overlapping from about 10 to about 90 percent, preferably from about 50 to about 65 percent. As shown in FIG. 2, the first image capture unit (26) bisects the image bounded on one side by the left plane (30) and bounded on the opposite side by the right plane (32). Associated with the optical axis (28). The lens (14) of the image capture unit (26) is focused on a defined image plane (34) divided into a left image plane (36) and a right drawing plane (38).

  Similarly, the second image capture unit (40) also includes the optical axis (42), the left plane (44), the right plane (46), the defined image plane (48), the left image plane (50), the right Image plane (52) is provided. The third image capture unit (54) on the right side of the first image capture unit (26) includes an optical axis (56), a left plane (58), a right plane (60), a defined image plane (62), a left The image plane (64) and the right image plane (66) are provided.

  A plurality of image capturing units (26), (40), (54) are provided, the defined image planes (34), (48), (62) are divided into halves and the like, and the image capturing unit (26 ), (40), (54) are oriented as shown in FIG. 2, so that all points associated with the final panoramic image are at least two adjacent image capture units (26), (40), and And / or in the defined image plane of (54). As shown in FIGS. 5A-5B, the defined image plane of adjacent image capture units is preferably about 1-20 percent, more preferably about 5-10 percent, and in a preferred embodiment in the vertical direction. About 7 percent overlap. Similarly, the defined image planes of adjacent image capture units overlap in the horizontal direction, preferably about 20 percent, more preferably about 5-10 percent, and in a preferred embodiment about 6 percent. These overlaps aid the “stitching” process described below.

  A first panorama image (72) and a second panorama image (74) are generated to generate the final panorama image (68) of the present invention that can display approximately 180 degrees (eg, a hemisphere) of the scene. (FIG. 3, FIG. 4A-4B). Each of the panoramic images (72), (74) can display about 90 degrees of the scene (eg, about half of a hemisphere). To generate the first panoramic image (72), the image (76) associated with the left image plane (36) of the first image capture unit (26) is the left image plane ( 50) and the image (80) associated with the left image plane (64) of the third image capture unit (54) (FIGS. 2, 4A, 5A). As shown in FIG. 2, the associated image planes (36), (50), (64) are preferably about 0.5-30 percent, more preferably about 10-20 percent, and in a preferred embodiment about 13 They overlap by a percentage but are not parallel to each other and do not necessarily touch the curve defining the first panoramic image (72) (FIGS. 2, 4A). Thus, the images (76), (78), (80), (82), (84), (86) associated with the planes (36), (50), (64) are as described below. Before stitching together to form the final panoramic image (68), it must be transformed to remove distortions associated with non-parallel directions (FIGS. 2, 3, 4A-4B, 5A-5B). .

  Images (76), (78), (80) associated with the left image plane (38), (52), (66) and images associated with the right image plane (36), (50), (64) ( 82), (84), (86) are collected and received by all of the image capture units (26), (40), (54), the images can be wired, wireless, or via any desired connection. It is transmitted to the CPU (22). The CPU (22) then operates to convert the image according to the process described in FIGS. 6A-6C. As shown in block (88), the preferred embodiment is a substantially straight image, but of course the source image, which can be any type of image, is captured by the CPU (22) by the image capture unit (26), ( 40), (54) or received (FIGS. 2, 4A, 4B, and 6A-6C). As shown in block (94), the CPU (22) then determines an alignment pixel pair for the unconverted source image.

  Thereafter, as shown in block (96), the CPU (22) creates an input file. The input file includes the height and width of the final panoramic image (68), source information, and alignment point information. The source information includes the file name and path of the source image, the height and width of the source image in pixels, and further includes the yaw angle, pitch angle, and roll angle of the source of the associated image capture unit. The horizontal field of view of the image capture unit is preferably between about 1 and about 80 degrees, more preferably between about 30 and about 60 degrees, and in a preferred embodiment about 53 degrees, with the associated left plane and right side of the source image. Defined by plane, X shift, Y shift, and zoom value. The information related to the alignment point includes information relating to the source image related to the first pixel position of the alignment point, horizontal and vertical pixel positions of the first source image, and a list index of information relating to the source image related to the second pixel position And the horizontal and vertical pixel positions of the second source image.

  Images (76-86) associated with the image planes (36, 38, 50, 52, 64, 66) are generally straight standard flat field images, and panoramic images (72, 74) are shown in FIGS. 4A-4B. It is at least partially equirectangular, representing pixel mapping onto a spherical surface in the manner shown. Thus, when the CPU (22) creates the input file, it converts the aligned pixel pair to identify the position of the pixel pair in the final panoramic image (68), as indicated by block (98).

  A vector is defined that starts with an arbitrary source image and represents the first pixel of a given aligned pixel pair in three-dimensional space, located on the final panoramic image (68). This is achieved by applying the following matrix transformation to each pixel.

  Define segment x: Change the horizontal position of the pixels of the source image so that it is referenced to the center of the image. Next, the X shift and zoom variable of the source image are corrected.

  Define segment y: change the vertical position of the pixels of the source image to be relative to the center of the image. Next, the Y shift and zoom variable of the source image are corrected.

  Define segment z: Various source image variables are used to determine the z segment corresponding to the scale given by the image size in pixels.

Transform the vector to correspond to the rotation angle of the source camera. This is calculated by transforming the vector by each of the three rotation matrices.

  In matrix transformation, a pixel vector represents the global position globX, globY, globZ of that point in 3D space. The CPU (22) then converts these positions to spherical coordinates and applies them directly to the final panoramic coordinates. The yaw angle of the vector represents the new X, its horizontal panorama position, and the pitch angle represents the new Y, its vertical panorama position.

  Once the alignment pixel pair is mapped to the final panoramic image (68) in this manner, as indicated by block (100), the CPU (22) calculates the spacing between the alignment pixel pair. If the average spacing of the alignment pixel pairs for a given source image is not yet minimal as in the initial transformation, the source image yaw is slightly changed, as shown in block (102), The process then returns to block (98) to convert the aligned pixel pair back to pixel points in the final panoramic image (68). This process of changing the yaw continues until the average spacing of the alignment pixel pairs in the source image is minimized. Thereafter, the pitch, roll, X shift, Y shift, and zoom are changed until the average spacing of the associated alignment pixel pairs is minimized. When the yaw, pitch, roll, X shift, Y shift, and zoom of a particular source image are optimized, all of these are optimized for the entire source image, as indicated by block (104). This conversion procedure is repeated until.

  As shown in block (106), once all optimization of the source image is completed in this way, the average spacing of the alignment pixel pairs of all source images is calculated, and if they are not yet minimal, The source image's yaw, pitch, roll, X shift, Y shift, and zoom are changed as shown at (108), and the process returns to block (98) where the spacing between the aligned pixel pairs is all of the source image. The process continues until it is at a minimum.

  When the average spacing between the alignment pixel pairs is minimized across all source images, an output file is created, as indicated by block (110), and the height and width of the first panoramic image (72), each specific Identify yaw, pitch, roll, X shift, Y shift and zoom converted image information for the source image. Thereafter, as shown in block (112), for each pixel in a given source image, a vector representing the position of a particular pixel in three-dimensional space using the vector transformation described above is obtained. Determined.

  Once the vectors are defined, the vectors reflect the yaw, pitch, roll, X shift, Y shift, zoom information associated with the source image as defined in the output file, as indicated by block (114). Is converted to After completing the vector conversion, the converted vector is associated with the pixels of the final panoramic image (68), as indicated by block (116). As indicated by block (118), this process is repeated until all of the pixels of a particular source image have been converted to vectors and these positions are located on the final panoramic image (68).

  When all of the pixels of a given source image are positioned on the final panorama image (68), as indicated by block (120), each has a height and width approximately equal to the height and width of the final panorama image (68). Two image buffers (90), (92) having are generated (FIGS. 3, 5A-5B, 6B). Once the image buffers (90), (92) are generated, as indicated by block (122), the appropriate vector transformation information associated with the four adjacent pixels of the quadrilateral of the particular source image is used to generate the appropriate A quadrilateral of pixels is drawn on the image buffer (90) or (92) (FIGS. 5A-5B and 6C). If the pixel is in the left image plane (38), (52), or (66), the pixel is written to the left image buffer (90). If the pixel is in the right image plane (36), (50), or (64), it is in the right image buffer (92) (FIGS. 2, 5A-5B).

  As indicated by block (124), the pixel quadrilateral on the image buffer may be enlarged due to the transformation, so that the pixel is moved from a straight line position to an equirectangular position in the associated image buffer (90) or (92) When converted, gaps between pixels can occur (FIGS. 5A-5B, 6C). When a pixel quadrilateral is positioned on the associated image buffer (90) or (92), the gap created thereby is in a manner known in the art, perhaps using a linear gradient of corner pixel colors. Fills as smoothly as possible. Known linear gradient fill techniques can be used to eliminate visible seams between images. When additional source image information is added to the image buffers (90), (92), the alpha of the newly overlapping pixel in the area of the image buffers (90), (92) already filled with pixel data. The transparency decreases linearly and smoothes the resulting seam as described below.

  Thus, when mapping a quadrilateral to the associated image buffer (90) or (92), the CPU (22) can include any known in the art that can include comparing the gap to adjacent pixels. To eliminate the gap by interpolating the internal pixel value, or extrapolate the most appropriate pixel value of the gap using the previous and next frames in the video capture system. By doing so, the gap can be “white boxing”. As indicated by block (126), blocks (122), (124) are repeated until all of the source image pixels are mapped to the appropriate image buffer (90) or (92).

  When the map of all pixels is complete, the first image buffer pixel is compared with the first panoramic image pixel, as indicated by block (128). If the first panoramic image (72) has no pixels associated with the pixels of the first image buffer (90), the CPU (22) sets the pixels of the first image buffer (90) to maximize visibility. Set. If the first panoramic image (72) already has pixels associated with the pixels of the first image buffer (90), the existing pixels are compared with the corresponding pixels of the first image buffer (90). When the pixels of the first image buffer (90) have a shorter distance to the center of their respective source images than the existing pixels, the pixels of the first image buffer (90) maximize visibility. Is set as follows. Conversely, when the pixels of the first image buffer (90) have a longer distance to the center of their respective source images than the existing pixels, the pixels of the first image buffer (90) have minimal visibility. Is set to The process is repeated to merge the pixels of the second image buffer (92) into the second panoramic image (74).

  As indicated by block (130), the overlapping edges of the images in the image buffers (90), (92) are feathered by reducing the visibility of the pixels across the area of overlap. This feathering smoothes the overlap area of the images when the images are merged from the image buffers (90), (92) into the panoramic images (72), (74). As indicated by block (132), when the image buffer pixels are set for proper visibility and the image in the image buffer is feathered, the images in the image buffer are first and second panoramic images (72). , (74). As indicated by block (134), blocks (122) through (132) are repeated until all source images are merged into the first and second panoramic images (72), (74). As described above, the images (76), (78), (80) associated with the left image planes (36), (50), (64) of the image capture units (26), (40), (54) are , Images used to generate the first panoramic image (72) and associated with the right image planes (38), (52), (66) of the image capture units (26), (40), (54) ( 82), (84), (86) are used to generate a second panoramic image (74).

  Once both final panoramic images (72), (74) are generated, panoramic images (72), (74) are displayed together as final panoramic images (68), as indicated by block (138). (FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B). The panoramic images (72), (74) are polarized in the reverse direction and displayed on the standard panoramic screen (140) as shown in FIG. 3, using glasses (142) with lenses of reverse polarization. Can see. Alternatively, the panoramic images (72), (74) can be transmitted to the head mounted display (24) shown in FIG. The CPU (22) uses a known “page flipping” technique to send a plurality of panoramic images to the head mounted display (24), and to send images to the left and right displays of the head mounted display (24) as necessary, and Can be displayed individually. Using this process, the display can be animated as a full 24 frame second (ftp) movie, or multiple images can be displayed for each display. Accordingly, the imaging system (see FIG. 2) includes a first image capture unit (26) for capturing a first image (36), a second image capture unit (40) for capturing a second image (50), A third image capture unit (54) for capturing the third image (64) is included, and the first portion of the first image (36) is combined with a portion of the second image (50) to combine the first combined image. Means for generating (22) and means (22) for combining the second portion of the first image (36) and the portion of the third image (64) to generate a second combined image may be included. The first portion of the first image can be any amount up to the entire first image, or can be between about 20 percent and about 80 percent of the first image. The portion of the second image can be any amount up to the entire second image, or can be between about 20 percent and about 80 percent of the second image. The first and second combined images can be repeatedly generated and displayed so as to transmit a stereoscopic motion.

  The imaging system also includes an image capture unit (26) for providing an image, means (22) for providing a first stereoscopic image using the first portion of the image, and a second portion using the second portion of the image. Means (22) for providing a two-dimensional image may be included.

  If the head-mounted display unit (24) includes an orientation sensor (144) as is well known in the art, it changes the image provided to the head-mounted display (24) as the sensor (144) moves. Can do. In this way, the user (not shown) can view the final panorama image (68) of the corresponding part related to the user's line-of-sight vector by looking up and down and in any direction, It is possible to obtain a perception that actually looks around the space.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the camera (10) can be provided with a plurality of image capture pairs having generally linear capture systems oriented substantially parallel to each other. The pair can be offset by a predetermined factor to obtain the required stereoscopic image. Since the images are captured in pairs, the conversion process associated with this embodiment is the same as described above, except that the image is split in half and the pixels from each half are sent to separate image buffers, All of the pixels associated with the image from the “left” image capture device of each image capture device pair are sent to one image buffer, and all of the pixels associated with the image from the “right” image capture device are sent to the other Sent to the image buffer.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the camera (10) and CPU (22) can be used to capture 24 fps or higher and display the final stereoscopic panoramic image (68) as a moving image in real time.

  In yet another embodiment of the present invention, computer generated graphic information generated in a manner well known in the art is combined with the final panoramic images (72), (74) of the CPU (22) to provide a camera ( The actual images captured in 10) are seamlessly integrated to provide a digitized virtual reality image (146) (FIG. 3). This combination produces a seamless display of real and virtual panoramic stereoscopic virtual images.

  In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the image captured by the camera (10) is converted using the conversion procedure described above to produce a seamless 360 degree panoramic monograph image. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera (10) includes a transport post, such as a remote control carriage (150) similar or identical to that used in connection with a support post (148), a remote control vehicle, and the like. I have. The image associated with the left image plane of the image capture unit is used to generate the combined image, and the image associated with the right image plane of the image capture unit is the support post (148) that should be visible in the combined image, , Carriage (150), can be used to overwrite and fill the combined image to hide any other camera device. The conversion procedure described above can be used for such overwriting and filling. In this way, only the image not including unnecessary information is mapped to the final panorama image (152) and displayed on the spherical screen (154) or the head mounted display (24) (FIGS. 1 and 7). For the portion of the image that reflects the area covered by the area occupied by the carriage (150), approximate the image under the carriage (150) using the interpolation and feathering techniques detailed above. A 360 degree image appearance that is completely unobstructed can be generated.

  Although the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that changes and modifications may be made in the invention which are within the fully intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It should be understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the invention.

1 shows a front view of an imaging system of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows a graphic representation of the image capture range of an adjacent image capture device of the imaging system of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a bottom perspective view of the final panoramic stereoscopic image displayed on the screen and polarized glasses used to view the image. The left panorama image is shown. The right panoramic image is shown. An image associated with a first image buffer is shown. An image associated with a second image buffer is shown. 6 is a flowchart of a conversion process used in connection with the imaging system of the apparatus of the present invention for converting a plurality of images captured by the imaging apparatus into a first panorama image and a second panorama image to generate a stereoscopic panorama image. 6 is a flowchart of a conversion process used in connection with the imaging system of the apparatus of the present invention for converting a plurality of images captured by the imaging apparatus into a first panorama image and a second panorama image to generate a stereoscopic panorama image. 6 is a flowchart of a conversion process used in connection with the imaging system of the apparatus of the present invention for converting a plurality of images captured by the imaging apparatus into a first panorama image and a second panorama image to generate a stereoscopic panorama image. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an unobstructed panoramic stereoscopic image generated using the camera of FIG.

Claims (46)

A first image capture unit for capturing a first image;
A second image capture unit for capturing a second image;
A third image capture unit for capturing a third image;
Means for combining a first portion of the first image with a portion of the second image to generate a first combined image;
Means for combining a second portion of the first image with a portion of the third image to generate a second combined image.   The first image capture unit, the second image capture unit, and the third image capture unit are positioned along an arc about 5 to about 45 degrees apart from each other. Imaging system.   The imaging system of claim 1, wherein an image plane associated with the first image overlaps an image plane associated with the second image by about 0.5 to about 30 percent.   The imaging system of claim 1, wherein the image plane associated with the first image overlaps the image plane associated with the second image in a vertical direction by about 1 to about 20 percent.   The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the first image and the second image are formed in a substantially straight line.   The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the first combined image and the second combined image are at least partially equirectangular.   The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the first combined image and the second combined image can be displayed so as to be a stereoscopic image.   The imaging system according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying the first combined image and the second combined image to provide a stereoscopic image.   The imaging system according to claim 1, further comprising means for continuously displaying the plurality of first combined images and second combined images as moving image stereoscopic images.   Combining the first combined image with a plurality of sufficient images to produce a first combined panoramic image representing at least about 90 degrees of the scene, and combining the second combined image with a plurality of other sufficient images to Means for generating a second combined panoramic image representing approximately 90 degrees of the scene; and means for displaying the first combined panoramic image and the second combined panoramic image to provide a stereoscopic panoramic image. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein:   11. The imaging system of claim 10, further comprising means for continuously displaying the first set of combined panoramic images and the second set of combined panoramic images to provide a moving stereoscopic panoramic image.   The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the first combined image and the second combined image are combined with a digital image to generate a stereoscopic image including the digital image. An image capture unit that provides images;
Means for providing a first stereoscopic image using a first portion of the image;
Means for providing a second stereoscopic image using the second portion of the image.   The imaging system according to claim 13, further comprising means for combining the first stereoscopic image and the second stereoscopic image into a panoramic stereoscopic image. Multiple image capture units to provide multiple images;
Means for combining an image selected from the plurality of images with the images to generate a combined image;
Means for combining the combined image into a first panoramic image and a second panoramic image;
14. The imaging system according to claim 13, further comprising means for displaying the first panorama image and the second panorama image to provide a panoramic stereoscopic image.   16. The imaging system of claim 15, wherein the first panoramic image displays about 90 degrees of a scene.   16. The imaging system according to claim 15, wherein the panoramic stereoscopic image displays about 180 degrees of a scene. Acquiring a first image;
Acquiring a second image;
Acquiring a third image;
Combining a first portion of the first image with a portion of the second image to generate a first combined image;
Combining a second portion of the first image with a portion of the third image to generate a second combined image;
Displaying the first combined image and the second combined image as a stereoscopic image;
Including methods.   19. The method of claim 18, further comprising obtaining the first image, the second image, and the third image from a plurality of image capture units positioned along an arc.   The method of claim 19, wherein the plurality of image capture units are positioned about 5 degrees to about 45 degrees apart in a single direction along the arc.   19. The method of claim 18, further comprising displaying a plurality of consecutive first combined images and a plurality of consecutive second combined images to provide a moving image stereoscopic image.   The method of claim 21, wherein the animated stereoscopic image represents approximately 180 degrees of a scene.   The method of claim 18, further comprising defining a plurality of alignment pixel pairs.   24. The method of claim 23, further comprising transforming the plurality of alignment pixel pairs to minimize image alignment intervals.   24. The method of claim 23, further comprising determining a vector representing one pixel of the plurality of alignment pixel pairs.   26. The method of claim 25, further comprising converting the vector to a transform vector as to a source rotation angle.   27. The method of claim 26, further comprising associating the transformation vector with a panoramic image pixel.   28. The method of claim 27, further comprising adjusting visibility of pixels of the image buffer by comparing an interval associated with pixels of the panoramic image with an interval associated with pixels of the image buffer.   The method of claim 21, further comprising feathering overlapping edges of the image in the image buffer by reducing visibility of pixels in the overlap region. A first image capture unit for capturing a first image;
A second image capture unit for capturing a second image;
A third image capture unit for capturing a third image;
A processing unit operatively coupled to the first, second and third image capture units for receiving the first, second and third images;
With
A first portion of the first image is combined with a portion of the second image to provide a first combined image, and a second portion of the first image is combined with a portion of the third image to form a second combined image. And a stereoscopic image can be provided by displaying the first combined image and the second combined image.   31. The imaging system of claim 30, wherein the first, second, and third image capture units are positioned substantially equidistant from one another along a generally arcuate path.   32. The imaging system of claim 31, wherein the generally arcuate path is defined by a generally spherical body.   The first image capturing unit and the second image capturing unit are separated from each other by an angular interval of about 5 degrees to about 45 degrees along an arc, and the second image capturing unit and the third image capturing unit are arranged in the arc. The imaging system of claim 30, wherein the imaging system is spaced apart from each other by approximately the angular interval.   The field of view associated with the first image capture unit overlaps the field of view associated with the second image capture unit by a certain amount of overlap, and the field of view associated with the second image capture unit is the amount of overlap by the The imaging system of claim 30, wherein the imaging system overlaps a field of view associated with a third image capture unit.   The imaging system of claim 34, wherein the amount of overlap is from about 10 percent to about 90 percent.   The defined image plane associated with the first image capture unit overlaps with the defined image plane associated with the second image capture unit by about 1 to about 20 percent. The imaging system described.   The first portion of the first image is between about 20 percent and about 80 percent of the first image, and the portion of the second image is between about 20 percent and about 80 percent of the second image. 31. The imaging system of claim 30, wherein there is an imaging system.   The imaging system according to claim 30, wherein a plurality of the first combined image and the second combined image are displayed in succession to transmit motion.   The first combined image is combined with a sufficient number of images to generate a first combined panoramic image representing approximately 90 degrees of the scene, and the second combined image is combined with a sufficient number of other images. The second combined panoramic image representing about 90 degrees of the scene is generated, and the first combined panoramic image and the second combined panoramic image are displayed to provide a stereoscopic panoramic image. 30. Imaging system according to 30.   40. The imaging system of claim 39, wherein the first combined panoramic image set and the second combined panoramic image set are displayed sequentially to provide a moving stereoscopic panoramic image. An image capture unit for providing images;
An imaging system coupled to the image capture unit, wherein the processing unit receives a first portion of the image to provide a first stereoscopic image and receives a second portion of the image to provide a second stereoscopic image. .   The imaging system according to claim 41, wherein the first stereoscopic image and the second stereoscopic image are combined with a panoramic stereoscopic image. A plurality of image capture units coupled to the processing unit for providing a plurality of images;
A selected image of the plurality of images is combined with at least one other image to generate a plurality of combined images, the plurality of combined images providing a first panoramic image and a second panoramic image. 42. The imaging system of claim 41, wherein the first panorama image and the second panorama image are combined to provide a panoramic stereoscopic image.   44. The imaging system of claim 43, wherein the first panoramic image displays about 90 degrees of a scene.   44. The imaging system of claim 43, wherein the panoramic stereoscopic image displays about 180 degrees of a scene.   The imaging system of claim 41, further comprising an imaging unit coupled to the processing unit.

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