Digital imaging systems have traditionally relied on brute-force measurement and processing of pixels arranged on regular grids. In contrast, the human visual system performs significant data reduction from the large number of photoreceptors to the optic nerve, effectively encoding visual information into a low-bandwidth latent space representation optimized for brain processing. Inspired by this, we propose a similar approach to advance artificial vision systems.Latent Space Imaging introduces a new paradigm that combines optics and software to encode image information directly into the semantically rich latent space of a generative model. This approach substantially reduces bandwidth and memory demands during image capture and enables a range of downstream tasks focused on the latent space.We validate this principle through an initial hardware prototype based on a single-pixel camera. By implementing an amplitude modulation scheme that encodes into the generative model’s latent space, we achieve compression ratios ranging from 1:100 to 1:1000 during imaging, and up to 1:16384 for downstream applications. This approach leverages the model’s intrinsic linear boundaries, demonstrating the potential of latent space imaging for highly efficient imaging hardware, adaptable future applications in high-speed imaging, and task-specific cameras with significantly reduced hardware complexity.

The desire for cameras with smaller form factors has recently led to a push for exploring computational imaging systems with reduced optical complexity such as a smaller number of lens elements. Unfortunately such simplified optical systems usually suffer from severe aberrations, especially in off-axis regions, which can be difficult to correct purely in software. In this paper we introduce Fovea Stacking, a new type of imaging system that utilizes an emerging dynamic optical component called the deformable phase plate (DPP) for localized aberration correction anywhere on the image sensor. By optimizing DPP deformations through a differentiable optical model, off-axis aberrations are corrected locally, producing a foveated image with enhanced sharpness at the fixation point - analogous to the eye's fovea. Stacking multiple such foveated images, each with a different fixation point, yields a composite image free from aberrations. To efficiently cover the entire field of view, we propose joint optimization of DPP deformations under imaging budget constraints. Due to the DPP device's non-linear behavior, we introduce a neural network-based control model for improved agreement between simulation and hardware performance. We further demonstrated that for extended depth-of-field imaging, Fovea Stacking outperforms traditional focus stacking in image quality. By integrating object detection or eye-tracking, the system can dynamically adjust the lens to track the object of interest-enabling real-time foveated video suitable for downstream applications such as surveillance or foveated virtual reality displays.