Field of view in monocentric multiscale cameras.

Abstract

Conventionally, the field of view of a camera is understood as the angular extent of a convex circular or rectangular region. Parallel camera architectures with computational image stitching, however, allow implementation of a field of view with an arbitrary shape. Monocentric multiscale lenses further allow the implementation of an arbitrary field of view in camera volumes comparable to conventional single-lens systems. In contrast with conventional wide-field-of-view systems, multiscale design can also achieve nearly uniform resolution across the entire field of view. This paper presents several design studies obtaining unconventional fields of view using this approach.