Skip to main content

Theia develops innovative distortion-free ultra-wide-angle lenses

Today’s high-resolution cameras have many advantages if they have the right lens for the job. When that includes covering large areas or reducing cost by installing fewer cameras, you need a wide-angle lens. Fisheye style lenses with barrel distortion are routinely used to cover an ultra-wide field of view; however, they create a curved and distorted image which causes significant loss of resolution at the image edges. This presents a variety of issues for ITS applications such as difficulty in identification or recognition of objects and details.
October 26, 2022 Read time: 2 mins

 

To counter the drawbacks of fisheye-style optics, Theia Technologies has developed a suite of rectilinear lenses offering a different, ultra-wide field of view without the barrel distortion or loss of edge resolution characteristic of fisheye style lenses. Theia achieves this optically, without the use of image correction software or its inherent latency.

The company employs its patented Linear Optical Technology to create a family of multi-megapixel lenses that offer horizontal fields of view up to 135 degrees with very low distortion while improving the resolution at the image edge compared to typical wide-angle lenses.

Applications for Theia’s family of ultra-wide, low distortion lenses include providing great peripheral vision for situational awareness in navigation and remote operation of vehicles and robots used in a variety of ITS applications from logistics to assisted and unmanned vehicles. They capture wide areas at short distances such as in under-vehicle surveillance and shipping container identification, among many other imaging tasks, including applications in close-up applications such as ATMs, card-locked garage entries, and multi-door entryways where both high image detail and wide fields of view are required. Other applications for Theia’s family of ultra-wide, low-distortion lenses include effectively monitoring large areas like parking lots, multi-lane tolling stations, and warehouses.

Choosing the right lens for an application depends on many factors including field of view, required image resolution, multi-spectral capability, image format and mount, among others. To assist in lens selection, Theia offers an image resolution simulator and lens calculator that relates FOV, resolution, and object distance.

Visitors to the Theia website will find it also offers other tools and white papers for a better understanding of its lens technology and selection of the optimal lens for your application.

Content produced in association with Theia Technologies

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • AVT Prosilica GX-series
    February 2, 2012
    The Prosilica GX-Series from Allied Vision Technologies (AVT) is available with five sensors from 1-8 megapixels and a new thermal management housing. This range of Gigabit Ethernet cameras combines high speed and high resolution. Running at 240Mb/s data rate, the company claims the GX-Series are the fastest GigE Vision-compliant cameras in the world. They are equipped with the latest Kodak CCD sensors to offer excellent image quality and high sensitivity. All models feature the specially designed new therm
  • Abu Dhabi embraces 'diversity of choice'
    January 30, 2025
    The Integrated Transport Centre in Abu Dhabi has big plans. Adam Hill hears why choices in the Middle Eastern emirate's mobility ecosystem are crucial when it comes to economic development
  • Velodyne develops Lidar sensor for AV mobility
    February 13, 2020
    Velodyne has released a Lidar solution which it says utilises surround-view technology to meet specifications for autonomous mobility. 
  • Cognitive Technologies launches 4D Radar for self-driving cars
    November 7, 2018
    Cognitive Technologies says its 4D Imaging Radar for self-driving cars carries out vertical scanning without using mechanical components and can detect objects with an accuracy over 97%. The 4D radar is expected to detect the coordinates and speed of the road scene objects as well as their shape during all weather conditions. According to Cognitive, the solution supports SAR (synthetic-aperture radar) technology which is used to build a map of the environment around the vehicle. This technology also