Miniaturized linear 3D array cameras
Digital cameras have almost completely replaced the previously dominant analogue models in a revolutionary way. Their main advantages are instantaneous image availability, low production costs and extreme miniaturization. These were the prerequisites for the integration of cameras into mobile devices such as smartphones, notebooks and tablets with currently more than three billion systems per year with continued growth. Furthermore, applications in the field of vehicle, automation and medical technology were developed. The development from analogue to digital has occurred in the exchange of the recording medium from the analogue film to the digital, silicon-based matrix imaging device, while the imaging concept remained mainly unchanged.
The underlying single-aperture principle, which has its biological correspondence in the human eyes, is, however, limited in its miniaturization and allows only the recording of two-dimensional object data.
Within the scope of the project, a new miniaturized 3D-capable image capturing system was developed as a solution, which can be used universally, for the realization of small-scale cameras.