Computational Cameras: Approaches, Benefits and Limits

Abstract

A computational camera uses a combination of optics and software to produce images that cannot be taken with traditional cameras. In the last decade, computational imaging has emerged as a vibrant field of research. A wide variety of computational cameras have been demonstrated - some designed to achieve new imaging functionalities and others to reduce the complexity of traditional imaging. In this article, we describe how computational cameras have evolved and present a taxonomy for the technical approaches they use. We explore the benefits and limits of computational imaging, and describe how it is related to the adjacent and overlapping fields of digital imaging, computational photography and computational image sensors