High resolution thin multi-aperture imaging systems

Abstract

A multi-aperture imaging system comprising a first camera with a first sensor that captures a first image and a second camera with a second sensor that captures a second image, the two cameras having either identical or different FOVs. The first sensor may have a standard color filter array (CFA) covering one sensor section and a non-standard color CFA covering another. The second sensor may have either Clear or standard CFA covered sections. Either image may be chosen to be a primary or an auxiliary image, based on a zoom factor. An output image with a point of view determined by the primary image is obtained by registering the auxiliary image to the primary image.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A multi-aperture imaging system comprising:
 a) a first camera that provides a first camera image, the first camera having a first sensor with a first plurality of sensor pixels covered at least in part with a non-standard color filter array (CFA) used to increase a specific color sampling rate relative to a same color sampling rate in a standard CFA, wherein the non-standard CFA includes a repetition of a n×n micro-cell where n=4 and wherein each micro-cell includes a BBRR-RBBR-RRBB-BRRB color filter order;   b) a second camera that provides a second camera image, the second camera having a second sensor with a second plurality of sensor pixels, the second plurality of sensor pixels being either Clear or covered with a standard CFA, wherein the second camera image has an overlap area with the first camera image; and   c) a processor configured to process the first and second camera images into a fused output image, wherein in the overlap area pixels of the second camera image are registered with corresponding pixels of the first camera image.   
     
     
       2. A multi-aperture imaging system comprising:
 a) a first camera that provides a first camera image, the first camera having a first sensor with a first plurality of sensor pixels covered at least in part with a non-standard color filter array (CFA) used to increase a specific color sampling rate relative to a same color sampling rate in a standard CFA, wherein the non-standard CFA includes a repetition of a n×n micro-cell where n=6 and wherein each micro-cell includes a color filter order selected from the group consisting of RBBRRB-RWRBWB-BBRBRR-RRBRBB-BWBRWR-BRRBBR, BBGRRG-RGRBGB-GBRGRB-RRGBBG-BGBRGR-GRBGBR, RBBRRB-RGRBGB-BBRBRR-RRBRBB-BGBRGR-BRRBBR and RBRBRB-BGBRGR-RBRBRB-BRBRBR-RGRBGB-BRBRBR;   b) a second camera that provides a second camera image, the second camera having a second sensor with a second plurality of sensor pixels, the second plurality of sensor pixels being either Clear or covered with a standard CFA, wherein the second camera image has an overlap area with the first camera image; and   c) a processor configured to process the first and second camera images into a fused output image, wherein in the overlap area pixels of the second camera image are registered with corresponding pixels of the first camera image.   
     
     
       3. The multi-aperture imaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the first camera is a Wide camera with a field of view FOV w  and wherein the second camera is a Tele camera with a field of view FOV T  smaller than FOV w . 
     
     
       4. A method of acquiring images by a multi-aperture imaging system, the method comprising:
 a) providing a first image generated by a first camera of the imaging system, the first camera having a first field of view (FOV 1 );   b) providing a second image generated by a second camera of the imaging system, the second camera having a second field of view (FOV 2 ) such that FOV 2 <FOV 1 , the second image having an overlap area with the first image; and   c) fusing the first and second images into a fused image, wherein the fusing includes applying a registration process between the first and second images, the registration process including:
 i. extracting a first Luma image from the first image 
 ii. extracting a second Luma image from the second image, 
 iii. applying low-pass filtering on the second Luma image in order to match its spatial frequency content to that of the first Luma image and to generate a low-pass second Luma image, and 
 iv. applying registration on the low-pass second Luma image and the first Luma image, 
   wherein the non-standard CFA includes a repetition of a n×n micro-cell where n=4 and   wherein each micro-cell includes a BBRR-RBBR-RRBB-BRRB color filter order.   
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein n=6 instead of n=4 and wherein instead of each micro-cell including a BBRR-RBBR-RRBB-BRRB color filter order, each micro-cell includes a color filter order selected from the group consisting of RBBRRB-RWRBWB-BBRBRR-RRBRBB-BWBRWR-BRRBBR, BBGRRG-RGRBGB-GBRGRB-RRGBBG-BGBRGR-GRBGBR, RBBRRB-RGRBGB-BBRBRR-RRBRBB-BGBRGR-BRRBBR and RBRBRB-BGBRGR-RBRBRB-BRBRBR-RGRBGB-BRBRBR. 
     
     
       6. A color filter array (CFA) comprising: a first 2×2 color filter group having three blue color filters and a fourth color filter that is not a blue color filter. 
     
     
       7. The CFA of claim 6, wherein the CFA comprises a second 2×2 color filter group having three red color filters and a fourth color filter that is not a red color filter. 
     
     
       8. The CFA of claim 7, wherein one of the red color filters is adjacent to one of the blue color filters. 
     
     
       9. The CFA of claim 7, wherein the fourth color filter that is not a blue color filter is disposed in a first position in the first 2×2 color filter group and wherein the fourth color filter that is not a red color filter is disposed in a same first position in the second 2×2 color filter group. 
     
     
       10. A color filter array (CFA), comprising:
 a) a first 3×3 color filter group, having eight color filters and a first white filter; and   b) a second 3×3 color filter group having eight color filters and a second white filter.   
     
     
       11. The CFA of claim 10, wherein the first 3×3 color filter group has a first red color filter, a second red color filter adjacent to the first red color filter in a first direction, a third red color filter and a fourth red color filter adjacent to the third color filter in the first direction. 
     
     
       12. The CFA of claim 11, wherein the second 3×3 color filter group has a first blue color filter, a second blue color filter adjacent to the first blue color filter in the first direction, a third blue color filter and a fourth blue color filter adjacent to the third blue color filter in the first direction. 
     
     
       13. The CFA of claim 12, wherein the first white pixel is disposed in a first position in the first 3×3 color filter group and wherein the second white pixel is disposed in a same first position in the second 3×3 color filter group. 
     
     
       14. The CFA of claim 13, wherein the first position is a center of the first 3×3 pixel filter group. 
     
     
       15. A color filter array (CFA) comprising:
 a) a first 3×3 color filter group having two adjacent red color filters; and   b) a second 3×3 color filter group having two adjacent blue color filters.   
     
     
       16. The CFA of claim 15, wherein the first 3×3 color filter group includes two additional adjacent red color filters and wherein the second 3×3 color filter group includes two additional adjacent blue color filters.