An image acquisition method includes defining a first optical sensor configuration of a matrix to acquire the image of a first celestial body of first nature, the first configuration having a plurality of unit pixels, defining at least one second optical sensor configuration of the matrix to acquire the image of the second celestial body of second nature, the second configuration having a plurality of macro-pixels formed by groupings of unit pixels, and selecting one of the optical sensor configurations, the selection being made according to the nature of the observed celestial body.

A variable focal length optical assembly may include a deformable entry lens element, a deformable first reflective element and a deformable second reflective element. Using a controller coupled to the deformable elements, an external force such as a mechanical, electrical, electromechanical, or electromagnetic force is applied to the deformable elements to provide any number of different focal lengths. Since the deformation of the deformable elements, and consequently the changes in focal length, occur much faster than the playback frame rate, a number of sub-frames, each containing an image obtained at a different focal length, are associated with each playback frame. The availability of multiple images in the form of sub-frames permits the selection of an optimal image for inclusion in the final playback frame sequence. The availability of multiple images in the form of sub-frames at different focal lengths also permits the seamless incorporation of zoom-in and zoom-out effects.

A telescope includes an initial telescope comprising a concave first mirror and a convex second mirror that are configured so that they form, from a light beam coming from infinity, an image called the intermediate image in a focal plane called the intermediate focal plane, the intermediate image having a largest dimension along an X-axis perpendicular to an optical axis of the telescope, a segmenting module comprising a first set of n segmenting mirrors that are placed downstream of the intermediate focal plane and that are configured to divide the intermediate image obtained from the intermediate focal plane into n sub-images, a second set of n refocusing mirrors that are configured to reimage the n sub-images into n images in a focal plane of the telescope, the images being arranged in the focal plane so as to decrease the dimension along X containing the n images, a detecting device placed in the focal plane.

A projector for HUD includes a displaying component (1) configured to project an image, and a three-mirror optical device (10) configured to reflect the image onto a front windshield (5) which reflects the image to a driver's eyes. The three-mirror optical device (10) comprises a zoom lens assembly (2) having a zoom lens (21) for zooming in/out the image projected by the displaying component (1), and an image quality compensation lens assembly (3) having an image quality compensation lens (31) for compensating for an image quality distortion caused during a change of the focus of the zoom lens(21), and a front windshield compensation lens assembly (4), configured to compensate for a distortion caused by the front windshield (5). A first and a second focus adjusting component (22, 32) are configured to adjust the focus of the zoom lens (21) and the focus of quality compensation lens (31), respectively.

A reflective beam former for changing a diameter of a collimated light beam. A first mirror surface of a first curvature type, a second mirror surface and a third mirror surface are in a beam path; the shapes of the surfaces cause a collimated light beam entering the beam former via a first or third mirror surface to leave via the third or first mirror surface, respectively. The beam former includes several third, curved mirror surfaces of a second, different curvature type, one type being convex, the other concave. The second mirror surface is a plane mirror surface with an axis perpendicular to the plane mirror surface, and is in the beam path between the first and one selected from the several third mirror surfaces such that the surfaces are confocal to each other. The beam former includes a selector for selecting one of the several third curved mirror surfaces.

The present disclosure relates to an optical field and more particularly, to a multi-field of view (FOV) (zooming) optical assembly for a lens and may include an optical element provided in a form of a solid main optical element and including an integrated focal system with two mirrors and at least one integrated afocal system with two mirrors, a plurality of switching optical elements (SOEs) arranged on a front face of the optical element and configured to be switched between an open state in which light is transmitted and a closed state in which light is reflected and/or inhibited, and an image plane curvature correction element.

A cata-dioptric optical system for high resolution imaging in visible and infrared bands. The system includes a concave primary mirror, a convex secondary mirror, at least one beam splitter, a first folding mirror, a first group of lenses, a second group of lenses, and at least two image planes. The image planes have one or more aggregated sensors, where a first image plane receives rays from the first group of lenses and a second image plane receives rays from the second group of lenses, and at least one image plane is positioned behind the primary mirror and at a radial distance from the optical axis that is no more than the radius of the primary mirror.

A method for adjusting the magnification scale of an optical imaging device for exposing or inspecting substrates is provided. The optical imaging device includes a first optical element group, which includes a plurality of first optical elements in an imaging beam path. The method includes replacing optical elements of the first optical element group in the imaging beam path by optical elements of a second optical element group for the purposes of adjusting the magnification scale. The first optical element group includes two reflecting optical elements with first optical parameters, which define a first Petzval sum. The second optical element group includes two reflecting optical elements with second optical parameters, which define a second Petzval sum. The value of the first Petzval sum is at least substantially identical to the value of the second Petzval sum.

An off-axis three-mirror optical system with freeform surfaces comprised an aperture, a primary mirror, a secondary mirror, a tertiary mirror, and a detector. The aperture is located on an incident light path. The primary mirror is located on an aperture side. The secondary mirror is located on a primary mirror reflected light path.

The tertiary mirror is located on a secondary mirror reflected light path. The detector located on a tertiary mirror reflected light path. The primary mirror and the tertiary mirror have a same fifth-order polynomial freeform surface expression. The primary mirror reflected light path, the secondary mirror reflected light path and the tertiary mirror reflected light path overlap with each other.

A low magnification mode of operation of a multiple field of view optical system is based on off-axis reflective afocal assemblies with a common optical exit pupil and having a common mechanical axis of rotation which provides both field of view switching and image de-roll functions. A reflective afocal switching assembly permits variable fields of view while at the same time providing a common axis and mechanism to achieve an optical de-roll of the image. This complex arrangement provides a relatively large change in magnification for an all-reflective optical system than can image over 0.4-12.0 micron spectrum.