Interconnected network of cameras

Abstract

The Panoptic camera is an omnidirectional multi-aperture visual system which is realized by mounting multiple imaging sensors on a hemispherical frame. Previously, centralized hardware implementation was demonstrated for the Panoptic camera. In this chapter, we present a novel distributed and parallel implementation of the real-time omnidirectional vision reconstruction algorithm of the Panoptic camera. In this approach, new features are added to the camera modules such as image processing, direct memory access, and communication capabilities in order to distribute the omnidirectional image processing into the camera nodes. We present a methodology for the arrangement of camera modules with interconnectivity features into a target interconnection network topology. We give the details of the unique custom-made multiple-FPGA-based hardware platform designed for the implementation of the interconnected network of a 49 camera prototype Panoptic System. Alongside with the system, we present a novel way to represent the omnidirectional data obtained from the Panoptic camera. The presented distributed system can perform faster omnidirectional reconstruction and create higher resolution images in real-time compared to previously presented centralized approaches.