There is an ever present demand to increase the capability and performance of optical imagers while decreasing their physical size and cost. In order to achieve this, these devices must be engineered as complete systems and integrated together, rather than treated as disparate independent elements. This dissertation presents several examples of this concept. Specifically, it describes the integration process, including the design, simulation, fabrication, assembly, and characterization of several micro-optic imaging systems.

These systems include a wink-controlled polarization-switched telescopic contact lens, which switches between magnified and unmagnified vision by detecting a user's winks with an external pair of liquid crystal shutter glasses. A folded monocentric imager with deformable mirror focus splits a monocentric lens in half by utilizing symmetry and refocuses by changing the curvature of a flexible fold mirror in contact with a gel core. A sequential-capture panoramic light field camera uses a high resolution image relay to transfer the light field passing through a monocentric lens and microlens array to an image sensor. The entire relay is rotated around the monocentric objective lens to capture a series of exposures which are combined to produce the final panoramic light field image. A panoramic single-aperture multi-sensor light field camera uses an array of consolidating light field image sensors behind a monocentric lens to create a contiguous panoramic light field image in a single capture.

In addition to these systems, several future directions under ongoing research are described. First, a three-orthogonal discrete field light field camera which senses depth information in three separate directions using a single monocentric lens for visual odometry is presented. Finally, preliminary lens designs for a full field and field-expanded single-aperture sensor array cameras are documented. These lenses produce images that can be directly captured, and one of which extends the field of view beyond the hemisphere. In addition to their optical performance, considerations around cost reduction, manufacturability, and mass production for the consumer market are discussed.