SBIR Phase I:A Novel 360-Degree Video Surveillance Camera

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种具有直接光学展开能力的新型360°摄像机。无需外接计算机进行数字解包裹，即可获得高分辨率、无失真（解包裹）的周围场景360°视频。与现有的360°视频摄像机相比，该摄像机首次提供了几个独特的优势。能够实现：(1)无移动组件的360°无缝周边场景实时视频采集；(2)在不使用任何电子设备或计算开销的情况下，以光学方式展开360°周围图像。输出的视频可直接用于人类的解释和理解。(3)通过光学解包裹保持图像质量——没有数字重采样相关的降低图像质量的人工制品；(4)利用成像传感器的全像素分辨率获取整个360°周围场景（传统的鱼眼镜头或全方位360°光学获得的是圆形图像，42%的传感器有效像素无效）；(5)消除数字化处理带来的时间延迟。如果成功，提出的视频摄像机概念将为360°成像技术领域提供一条完全不同的道路，并将对视频监控市场产生深远的影响。2005年，全球视频监控产业规模约为70亿美元，预计五年内将增长至130亿美元，增长44%的市场即将迎来技术突破。视频监控市场被认为是一个无限增长的市场。“摄像机无处不在”仍然是视频监控市场趋势的最佳描述。通过消除对数字展开的需求，所提出的视频摄像机消除了对外部计算资源的需求，而外部计算资源历来是构建实用360°视频摄像机和促进360°视频监控的最大障碍之一。这种新的先进的360°成像技术将为视频监控领域带来许多创新产品和广泛应用，具有前所未有的性能，分辨率，图像质量，成本效益和易用性。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel 360° video camera with direct optical unwrapping capability. It can obtain high resolution undistorted (unwrapped) 360° video of surrounding scene without requiring external computer for performing digital unwrapping. The proposed video camera offers, for the first time, several unique advantages over any existing 360° video cameras. It is able to: (1) Capture real-time video of seamless 360° surrounding scene with no moving components; (2) Unwrap the 360° surrounding image optically, without using any electronics or computing overhead. The outputs video is directly viewable for human interpretation and understanding. (3) Preserve image quality via optical unwrapping - no digital re-sampling related artifacts that deteriorate image quality; (4) Acquire entire 360° surrounding scene with full pixel resolution of imaging sensor (conventional fisheye lens or omni-directional 360° optics acquires circular images, making 42% active pixels of sensor useless); (5) Eliminate time delay caused by digital processing. If successful the proposed video camera concept will offer a completely different path to the 360° imaging technology field and will have profound impact in video surveillance markets. In 2005, the global video surveillance industry is about $7 billion, which is expected to grow to $13 billion within five years, with 44% growth market on the verge of technological breakthrough. The video surveillance market is considered as a limitless growth market. 'Cameras Everywhere' continues to be the best description of the trend in the Video Surveillance market. By eliminating the need for digital unwrapping, the proposed video camera eliminates the need for external computing resource, which historically has been one of most significant barriers in building practical 360° video cameras and facilitating 360° video surveillance. This new advanced 360° imaging technology will lead to a number of innovative products and vast applications to video surveillance fields, with unprecedented performance, resolution, image quality, cost efficiency, and ease of use.