Design of Off-axis wide angle lens for the automobile application

Recently various types of driver assistance systems have been used for automobiles. In 2008, the U.S Congress passed a law which required that most cars be equipped with devices to warn objects behind the vehicle. Because of that, market of rear view cameras is expected to rise dramatically. Therefore many suppliers try to provide a wide angle camera for car makers. But a high distortion is caused by the wide angle might result in lower image quality. In order to improve the image quality, normally we use an algorithm to correct a distortion. Though we can improve the distorted image by correction algorithm, we must pay more cost to use it. In this paper, we propose a new optical system reducing a distortion in contrast to a conventional lens without cost. In other words, we can see only an area of interest. That is similar to reducing a field of view. Using a new optical system, we can get a less distorted image. In order to view an area of interest, we introduce an off axis optical system having refractive surfaces and reflective surfaces. In this paper, we describe the results of design and, evaluation of an off axis wide angle compact imaging system. In comparison to conventional wide angle lens, we can get the improvement of MTF, distortion, and lateral color aberrations. And we also can reduce a total cost because we don't need the outer apparatus or bracket to mount on the car.