Plenoptic camera range finding

Abstract

The ability of the plenoptic camera to perform ranging has been recognized since the camera's inception. It is possible to think of the range finding operation performed by the camera alternatively in terms of “depth from parallax,” “depth from defocus,” or even “depth through refocusing.” Each of these conceptions of the problem leads to a different approach, often yielding varying results in terms of performance and efficiency. However, each is subject to the same fundamental limitations. This research attempts to formulate this theoretical limit on ranging performance. In the process, it also provides a spatial domain explanation of “light field spreading,” a sampling phenomenon of importance for both image formation and ranging, which has elsewhere been explained in the frequency domain under the assumption of band limitedness. Finally, the research describes implementations of rangefinding procedures, and provides some results for a sample plenoptic camera.