Micro-observation technique for tele-micro-operation

Abstract

In this paper, an observational sensor system for tele-micro-operation is proposed with a dynamic focusing lens and a smart vision sensor using the 'depth from focus' criteria. Recently, micro-operations, such as for micro-surgery, DNA manipulations, etc., have gained in importance. However, the small depth of focus of the microscope produces poor observability. For example, if the focus is on the object, the actuator cannot be seen with the microscope. On the other hand, if the focus is on the actuator, the object cannot be observed. In this sense, the 'all-in-focus image', which holds the in-focused texture all over the image, is useful to observe the micro-environments with a microscope. One drawback of the all-in-focus image is that there is no information about the depth of objects. It is also important to obtain the depth map and show the three-dimensional (3D) micro virtual environments in real-time to actuate the micro objects intuitively. First, this paper reviews the criteria of 'depth from focus' to achieve the all-in-focus image and the 3D micro environments' simultaneous reconstruction. After evaluating the validity of this criteria with off-line simulation, a real-time virtual reality (VR) micro camera system is proposed to achieve the micro VR environments with the 'depth from focus' criteria. This system is constructed with a dynamic focusing lens, which can change its focal distance at a high frequency, and a smart vision system, which is capable of capturing and processing the image data in high speed with SIMD architecture.