Chapter 2
The Imaging Process

The chapter discusses some aspects of the imaging process that turn out to be critical in the design of artificial vision systems. The basics of how images are created using electromagnetic stimuli and imaging devices are be considered. Simple concepts from optics will are introduced, including distortion, depth of field, aperture, telecentric lens design. The basic structure of eyes and digital imaging sensors is introduced and some artifacts of digital imaging systems discussed. The sampling theorem is presented and its impact on image representation and common image processing operations such as resizing is investigated.

keywords: light, optics, noise, diffraction, distortion, telecentric lens design, eye, digital imaging sensor, sampling theorem, log-polar mapping.