Stereo Camera Calibration Tracking for Stable Depth Maps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional stereo vision systems face calibration challenges due to camera module shifts and rotations over time, especially in long-baseline and non-rigid mounting configurations, leading to inaccurate depth maps and unreliable data, as existing calibration methods fail to compensate for both slow and fast perturbations and require periodic manual calibration.
Innovation Solution
A stereo vision system with no rigid mounting members, utilizing a processor for active tracking and compensation of camera movements, generating rectified stereo images and performing automatic system calibration based on minimizing a cost function to maintain accurate depth maps across all motion frequencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If rigid mounting members are used to fix camera positions, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes rigid mounting members from the system entirely, extracting the problematic component that caused calibration drift. Instead of using mechanical rigid structures to fix camera positions, the system relies on software-based calibration tracking that actively monitors and compensates for relative camera movements, thereby solving the contradiction by eliminating the source of complexity while maintaining precision through an alternative mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical rigid mounting system with a computational approach. Rather than using physical structures to maintain camera position stability, the system employs processor-based calibration tracking that detects and compensates for relative camera movements through image analysis and coordinate transformation algorithms, substituting mechanical constraints with intelligent software control.
2Measurement precision
If manual calibration is performed periodically, then measurement precision is maintained, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous calibration tracking that operates throughout the system's operational lifetime. The processor continuously monitors relative camera positions by analyzing images captured by both cameras and dynamically updates calibration parameters, replacing periodic manual calibration with an ongoing automated process that maintains precision without requiring system shutdown or time loss for recalibration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-calibration automatically without human intervention. The processor independently detects calibration drift, computes correction parameters, and applies adjustments to maintain accurate depth mapping, enabling the system to service its own calibration needs continuously rather than requiring periodic manual recalibration by operators.
3Device complexity
If non-rigid mounting is used to reduce complexity, then device complexity decreases, but stability of the object's composition worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the processor continuously monitors relative camera positions by analyzing features in images from both cameras. When drift is detected, the system computes correction parameters and applies them to maintain accurate calibration, creating a closed-loop control system that actively compensates for position changes enabled by simple non-rigid mounting structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from static rigid mounting to dynamic adaptive calibration. The system allows cameras to move relative to each other on simple mounts but continuously tracks these movements through image analysis and dynamically adjusts calibration parameters in real-time, transforming the system from statically stable through mechanical constraints to dynamically stable through active computational compensation.
Data Source
AI summary
A long-baseline and long depth-range stereo vision system is provided that is suitable for use in non-rigid assemblies where relative motion between two or more cameras of the system does not degrade estimates of a depth map. The stereo vision system may include a processor that tracks camera parameters as a function of time to rectify images from the cameras even during fast and slow perturbations to camera positions. Factory calibration of the system is not needed, and manual calibration during regular operation is not needed, thus simplifying manufacturing of the system.