Camera Pose Estimation Using Peripheral Edge Lines

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for estimating camera pose in wireless communication devices face challenges when there are insufficient key points or imperfections in line features, particularly in indoor positioning scenarios where robust and accurate pose estimation is needed.

Innovation Solution

The method involves detecting edge line features such as horizontal and vertical lines corresponding to structures like floors, roofs, and doors, estimating vanishing points, and calculating the camera pose using these features, independent of object detection, to determine the camera's rotation and orientation with respect to a plane, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional key point-based pose estimation methods are used, then the method is simple to implement, but the accuracy deteriorates when key points are insufficient or line features have imperfections

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepose estimation accuracyVSAvoidalgorithm complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the pose estimation process into two independent parts: (1) target object detection using computer vision algorithms, and (2) pose calculation using peripheral edge line features. This segmentation allows each part to specialize - object detection focuses on identifying the target while pose estimation focuses on geometric relationships from edge lines, thereby improving overall accuracy without requiring a single complex algorithm to handle both tasks simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transitions from traditional 2D key point matching to utilizing 3D geometric constraints by detecting edge line features and estimating vanishing points. By incorporating peripheral structural information (floors, roofs, doors) as vanishing points, the system adds dimensional constraints that improve pose estimation accuracy even when traditional key points are insufficient.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If peripheral edge line features are used for pose estimation, then robustness to key point insufficiency improves, but computational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverobustness to insufficient key pointsVSAvoidcomputational complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential geometric features (edge lines and vanishing points) from the peripheral environment, rather than processing all image data. By focusing computation on detecting horizontal and vertical edge lines and calculating their intersection points (vanishing points), the system achieves robust pose estimation with controlled computational complexity, avoiding the need to process complete 3D models or exhaustive feature sets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses the peripheral environment itself (building structures like floors, roofs, and doors) to provide the geometric constraints needed for pose estimation. These environmental features naturally encode spatial relationships and vanishing points, allowing the system to self-determine camera pose without requiring external calibration data or complex pre-processing, thereby improving reliability while keeping computational requirements manageable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Measurement precision

If vanishing point estimation from edge lines is performed, then positioning accuracy in indoor environments improves, but the processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositioning accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary detection of horizontal and vertical edge line features before calculating vanishing points. By pre-identifying and organizing edge line segments by orientation (horizontal vs. vertical), the system prepares the data structure in advance, which significantly accelerates the subsequent vanishing point calculation process. This preliminary organization reduces processing time while maintaining the accuracy benefits of vanishing point-based pose estimation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS9147122B2Pose estimation based on peripheral information
Publication Date: 2015.09.29 QUALCOMM INC
  • US9147122B2 patent drawing
  • US9147122B2 patent drawing
  • US9147122B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method for estimating camera pose includes: obtaining an image of a location captured via a camera, where the image includes a target object and edge line features outside of the target object; and calculating a pose of the camera with respect to the target object based on the edge line features.