Reciprocal 360-deg 3D light-field image acquisition and display system [Invited]

A reciprocal 360-deg three-dimensional light-field image acquisition and display system was designed using a common catadioptric optical configuration and a lens array. Proof-of-concept experimental setups were constructed with a full capturing part and a truncated display section to demonstrate that the proposed design works without loss of generality. Unlike conventional setups, which record and display rectangular volumes, the proposed configuration records 3D images from its surrounding spherical volume in the capture mode and projects 3D images to the same spherical volume in the display mode. This is particularly advantageous in comparison to other 360-deg multi-camera and multiple projector display systems that require extensive image and physical calibration. We analyzed the system and showed quality measures such as angular resolution and space bandwidth product based on design parameters. The issue due to pixel size difference between the available imaging sensor and the display was also addressed. A diffractive microlens array matching the sensor size was used in the acquisition part, whereas a vacuum cast lens array matching the display size was used in the display part with scaled optics. The experimental results demonstrate the proposed system design works well and is in good agreement with the simulation results.