Coded aperture enhanced catadioptric optical system for omnidirectional image deblurring

Mirror curvature in the catadioptric camera often leads to noticeable blurring artifacts in omnidirectional imaging. Proper deblurring method is challenging because the blur kernel is difficult to estimate. A coded aperture enhanced catadioptric optical system is proposed in this paper that allows for image deblurring. The enhancement is designed by inserting a patterned occluder within the aperture of the camera lens. The captured omnidirectional image can be recovered to all-focus image though certain deconvolution method. Experiments on a variety of scenes (indoor/outdoor) demonstrate the benefits of using the coded apertures over conventional circular apertures. The sharp image obtained can be combined for various catadioptric applications, including omnidirectional monitoring systems, intelligent omnidirectional systems and robotics.