Compact and lightweight panoramic annular lens for computer vision tasks

We propose a focal power distribution theory for the design of a compact panoramic annular lens (PAL) system based on Petzval sum correction. The system has a large field of view (FoV) of 360 degrees x(25 degrees-100 degrees). Its total length is 29.2 mm and weight is only 20 g. The proposed compact PAL system achieves large FoV and loose tolerances while maintaining small volume and low cost. It solves the shortcomings of traditional PAL systems that cannot be mounted on miniaturized portable devices due to their large volume and weight. We equip the compact PAL system with a novel and customized image enhancement model: PAL-Restormer to achieve better imaging quality. The produced images are further evaluated in various panoramic environment perception tasks. Extensive experiments show the promising potential of our proposed compact PAL system for the applications in wearable devices and mobile robots. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement