Multiaperture telecentric lens for 3D reconstruction.

We present a telecentric lens that is able to gain 3D information. The proposed lens system has multiple aperture stops, which enable it to capture multidirectional parallel light rays, while a conventional telecentric lens has only one aperture stop and can capture only light rays that are perpendicular to the lens. We explain the geometry of the multiaperture telecentric system and show that correspondences fall on a line like those in a conventional stereo. As it is a single-lens sensor, we also introduce the principles of 3D reconstruction. Unlike a conventional stereo camera, the disparity of a scene point measured by the proposed lens system is linearly proportional to the depth of a scene point.