Estimating linear polarization with multi-point optic sensing

Polarized light studies have been conducted on polarized light images using three or four cameras at the concurrent time. It has been a challenging issue to find how angle of linear polarization and degree of polarization are effectively estimated. We investigate a feasible solution to handle the problem with a single webcam. Multiple optic samples can be taken with polarized film by a servo motor, and the collection helps find the characteristics of linear polorization. The multi-point optic sensing with a single camera can improve the resolution of polarization angle and estimate the degree of polarization more correctly. The method is based on the phase analysis with the fundamental frequency of a rotation of polarization angle. This paper shows a potential of extracting polarization information effectively through multiple polarized snapshot images. It greatly improves reading the polarization angle and degree over light images, compared to the conventional method with four snapshot images. Copyright © The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers.