Vertical Stereo Camera Parallax Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Stereo camera systems with cameras arranged in the vertical direction face challenges in accurate distance measurement due to focal plane distortion and parallax, leading to potential misidentification of subjects and increased apparatus complexity for correction.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a stereo camera system where cameras are arranged in a vertical line on a mobile body's side surface, reading pixel signals sequentially in the vertical direction, with each camera reading from top to bottom or bottom to top, allowing for accurate distance detection by minimizing focal plane distortion and parallax effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cameras are arranged in the vertical direction for side monitoring, then the configuration becomes advantageous for side monitoring from the front end portion, but focal plane distortion occurs and distance measurement accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional horizontal camera arrangement to a vertical arrangement, fundamentally changing the parallax direction from horizontal to vertical. This inversion enables side monitoring capability while maintaining distance measurement accuracy by reading pixel signals in the vertical direction where parallax occurs, rather than in the horizontal direction where focal plane distortion would affect measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of pixel signal reading direction from the conventional horizontal direction to the vertical direction. By reading pixel signals in the vertical direction where parallax occurs between vertically arranged cameras, the system eliminates focal plane distortion's impact on distance measurement while preserving side monitoring capability.
2Ease of operation
If pixel signals are read sequentially in units of rows in the horizontal direction, then the reading process is simple, but focal plane distortion occurs when subjects move horizontally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of pixel signal reading from horizontal row-by-row scanning to vertical column-by-column scanning. This parameter change eliminates focal plane distortion because the reading direction now aligns with the parallax direction between vertically arranged cameras, ensuring that subjects at the same horizontal position are read at the same timing even when they move horizontally.
3Measurement precision
If correction configurations are added to eliminate focal plane distortion and subject shift, then distance measurement accuracy improves, but apparatus complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of vertical camera arrangement (which creates parallax and subject shift in conventional horizontal reading) into a benefit by changing the reading direction to vertical. This eliminates the need for complex correction configurations because the parallax-induced shift becomes aligned with the reading direction, naturally eliminating focal plane distortion without requiring additional correction hardware or complex processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts both the camera arrangement direction (vertical) and the pixel signal reading direction (vertical), fundamentally changing how parallax is handled. This dual inversion eliminates the need for correction configurations by making the parallax direction coincide with the reading direction, thereby maintaining distance measurement accuracy without increasing apparatus complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables high-accuracy distance measurement by ensuring pixel signals are read in a manner that reduces the impact of focal plane distortion and parallax, allowing for precise recognition of subjects across images, thus enhancing the reliability of distance measurement in vertical camera setups.
Implementation Method 1
The stereo camera system includes a set of cameras arranged in the left-right horizontal direction, and the distance to a subject is measured using the shift of the same subject in a set of images. The shift of the same subject occurs due to parallax between the cameras.
Implementation Method 2
In the cameras included in the stereo camera system according to PTL 1, pixel signals of pixels arranged in an array are sequentially read in the vertical direction in units of rows and sequentially read in the horizontal direction for each row.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an imaging control apparatus, a method for controlling the imaging control apparatus, and a mobile body that can improve the distance measurement accuracy of a stereo camera mounted in a vehicle.A set of cameras included in a stereo camera system is arranged in line, on a side surface of a main body of a vehicle, in a vertical direction relative to a road surface. Further, in order from a front side of columns of pixels arranged in an array, imaged pixel signals are sequentially read in the vertical direction in units of pixels for each of the columns of the pixels. The present disclosure can be applied to an in-vehicle system.