Correcting distortion and braiding of micro-images from multi-aperture imaging systems

Multi-aperture imaging systems inspired by insect compound eyes promise advances in both miniaturization and cost reduction of digital camera systems. Instead of a single lens stack with size and sag in the order of a few millimeters, the optical system consists of an array of microlenses. At a given field of view of the complete system, the focal lengths of the microlenses is a fraction of the focal length of a single-aperture system, reducing track length and increasing depth of field significantly. As each microimage spans only a small field of view, the optical systems can be simple. Because the microlenses have a diameter of hundreds of microns and a sag of tens of microns, they can be manufactured cost-effectively on wafer scale and with high precision. However, reaching a sufficient resolution for applications such as camera phones has been a challenge so far. We demonstrate a multi-aperture color camera system with approximately VGA resolution (700x550 pixels) and a remarkably short track length of 1.4 mm. The algorithm for correcting optical distortion of the microlenses and combining the microimages into a single image is the focus of this presentation.