Optical Axis

Synonyms

Principal axis

Related Concepts

Center of Projection; Image Plane; Pinhole Camera Model

Definition

For rotationally symmetric imaging systems, the optical axis is the (usually unique) axis of symmetry.

Background

The usual definition of optical axis in computer vision is tied to the pinhole camera model, where it is defined as the line passing through the center of projection and that is orthogonal to the image plane. For a perfectly aligned usual optical system and where the image plane is parallel to the lenses' principal planes, the optical axis is the line passing through the lenses' centers.

Theory

A more general definition is to consider the optical axis as the (unique) axis of rotational symmetry of an imaging system, if this symmetry exists. Here, it may be advisable to examine rotational symmetry of only the optical part of the image formation process and not the entire process from 3D to the pixel domain. This is meant to exclude the way the photosensitive surface...