High quality panoramic image generation using multiple panoramic annular lens images

Abstract

Surveillance with intelligent camera systems is widely used in traffic control, driving assistance and surgery. One of the most essential specifications for surveillance systems is compactness. Therefore, in these applications with large field of view, we can avoid the use of multiple camera systems or mechanically controlled cameras. It is well known that omnidirectional camera systems using panoramic annular lens (PAL) have many advantages. Nevertheless, because of low spatial resolution of angle of elevation for the vertical direction of captured image by using PAL, the image after panoramic expansion usually has a disadvantage such as image quality degradation. To overcome this disadvantage, high quality panoramic image generation method is essential. Consequently, we propose the high quality panoramic image generation method using multiple PAL images. By synthesizing multiple PAL images for different zoom ratio, we can obtain fine quality panoramic image that improve image quality deterioration.