Equal Baseline Camera Array—Calibration, Testbed and Applications

This paper presents research on 3D scanning by taking advantage of a camera array consisting of up to five adjacent cameras. Such an array makes it possible to make a disparity map with a higher precision than a stereo camera, however it preserves the advantages of a stereo camera such as a possibil...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adam L. Kaczmarek, Bernhard Blaschitz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8464
Description
Summary:This paper presents research on 3D scanning by taking advantage of a camera array consisting of up to five adjacent cameras. Such an array makes it possible to make a disparity map with a higher precision than a stereo camera, however it preserves the advantages of a stereo camera such as a possibility to operate in wide range of distances and in highly illuminated areas. In an outdoor environment, the array is a competitive alternative to other 3D imaging equipment such as Structured-light 3D scanners or Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). The considered kinds of arrays are called Equal Baseline Camera Array (EBCA). This paper presents a novel approach to calibrating the array based on the use of self-calibration methods. This paper also introduces a testbed which makes it possible to develop new algorithms for obtaining 3D data from images taken by the array. The testbed was released under open-source. Moreover, this paper shows new results of using these arrays with different stereo matching algorithms including an algorithm based on a convolutional neural network and deep learning technology.
ISSN:2076-3417