Microlens array captures four-dimensional data on camera

The technology will therefore be ideal for capturing footage quickly in difficult or confined environments and, as a result, could even find a use in medical image processing and machine vision.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering have been working for a number of years with lightfield or plenoptic cameras.

These cameras use a microlens array, mounted in front of the camera sensor but behind the main lens, to capture four-dimensional data on the ‘lightfield’ — which describes the position, intensity and two-way direction of a beam of light at the point it hits the sensor.

‘The microlenses basically produce their own image, which has a slightly different angle of view of the scene that’s projected through the main lens — the lightfield contains much more information than can be captured with a normal camera,’ project lead Dr Arne Nowak told The Engineer. 

In cinematic post-production, a creative producer can then decide the depth of focus and angle of view of a sequence, as well as creating so-called depth maps, which are useful when integrating CGI effects.