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A unique, versatile, non-mechanical, non-rotating 360 degrees imaging system has been developed and field-tested successively with conventional black and white, color television, 35-mm, motion picture cameras to prove that intruders, vehicles, radiation can be detected and recognized from any direction using one camera. The system consists of a low-cost, unique first surface reflective conical mirror with special computer programmed aspheric surfaces in operation with conventional narrow field of view (FOV) cameras and objective lenses. The cameras are converted to the 360 degree horizontal FOV and flexibility in conical mirror design provides variable elevation FOV to fit the security application. The wide, efficient spectral reflectance of the conical mirror means that UV, LLLTV, far IR thermal TV cameras can be converted, as well, to 360 degree imaging. The TV real-time 360 degree circular image can be processed electronically and presented on the TV monitor as a typical linear undistorted 360 degree rectangular scene or stacked rectangular scenes and also processed to provide analog to digital real-time motion detection and audible alarm to alert security personnel. For the 360 degree imaging systems or any television systems, the motion detection electronics has been designed to function effectively with image digital memory requirements reduced by magnitudes, thereby, increasing computer speed, but reducing computer costs. The 360 degree TV real-time intruder detection systems can operate in internal and external locations. For external locations, optical filtering and electronic processing has been designed to minimize motion detection false alarms caused by the changing illumination, cloud motion, sun glitter, etc. of the outdoor land or marine environment. The versatile 360 degree TV imaging systems objectives are to replace several narrow FOV cameras for an instantaneous 360 degree sweep, accordingly to reduce number of motion detection accessories, to operate with off-the-shelf camera equipment, and, thus to provide a highly cost effective technique for intruder detection in governmental, industrial, commercial, residential, security applications.
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