Plenoptic imaging is a technology that captures information about the light field emanating from an object which can be compared to a 3D image. It has varied applications, some of which are facial recognition, the medical industry, autonomous driving, scientific instruments, and consumer products. The present stage of the technology is limited by the size of the machines and the cost of implementation.
Researchers at George Washington University have developed a novel idea where an optical configuration enables three-dimensional imaging using a plenoptic technique with micro lens arrays. Unlike the present stage of the technology, which relies on complex modification of the camera, the new implementation relies on simplified, inexpensive hardware and high-resolution images obtained by modifying the objective lens, which simplifies the 3D scene computational reconstruction.