A low-cost defocus blur module for video rate quantified 3D imaging

Abstract

Existing three-dimensional surface imaging systems are expensive, difficult to use, time consuming, and do not always provide the best accuracy or resolution. By using an offset aperture on a rotating disc, the 3D Monocular Imaging System provides a fast, portable, accurate, and cheap method of 3D surface imaging by relating the differences in images generated by the aperture at different positions to the depth of the features on the target surface. A cheaper and simpler alternative to the Monocular System was designed such that two offset fixed apertures would replace the rotating aperture. Rhombic prisms and a light-blocking mask ensured that the images would be generated properly on the camera's imaging surface. The new prototype was never completed, but the purchasing of the parts suggested that the cost of production would not drop enough to consider the module a popular purchase for home electronics usage. In addition, the requirement of precision-machined parts increased the time, effort, and cost to produce the module. However, the design for this new system is a viable alternative to the original 3D Monocular System since it is smaller, simpler, and cheaper.