Omni-directional stereo camera and method of controlling thereof

Abstract

An omni-directional stereo camera and a control method thereof. The omni-directional stereo camera includes two or more omni-directional cameras, and a supporting member installed within a shooting range between the omni-directional cameras to interconnect the omni-directional cameras and including compensation patterns formed at the surfaces.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the concept of a conventional single viewpoint omni-directional camera;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the compensation using a space pattern carried out in a non-single viewpoint omni-directional camera;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an omni-directional stereo camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a control system of the omni-directional stereo camera of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5, parts A and B are views illustrating a supporting member of the omni-directional stereo camera of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6, parts A and B are views illustrating another supporting member of the omni-directional stereo camera of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an uncompensated omni-directional image which is obtained from the omni-directional stereo camera of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a compensated image in which an uncompensated image is transformed into a panoramic image;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a control method of the omni-directional stereo camera according to the embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are views illustrating the concept of a three-dimensional coordinate being extracted from the omni-directional stereo camera of FIG. 3.

Claims

1. An omni-directional stereo camera comprising: two or more omni-directional cameras; anda supporting member installed within a shooting range between the omni-directional cameras to interconnect the omni-directional cameras and including compensation patterns formed at surfaces thereof.

2. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein the omni-directional cameras are installed to face each other.

3. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein the omni-directional cameras each comprise a CCD and the supporting member has a narrow width and a long length when viewing from the respective CCDs of the omni-directional cameras such that a dead angle is decreased and mechanical strength is increased.

4. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 3, wherein the supporting member comprises a rod having a circular cross-section.

5. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 3, wherein the supporting member comprises a rod having a teardrop-shaped cross-section.

6. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 3, wherein the supporting member comprises a rod having an oval cross-section.

7. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of the supporting members.

8. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 1, further comprising a signal line transmitting an image signal generated from one of the omni-directional cameras, wherein the signal line passes through an inside of the supporting member to the other of the omni-directional cameras to prevent the signal line from occupying a portion of the image.

9. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein each of the omni-directional cameras comprises a non-single viewpoint omni-directional camera.

10. A control method of an omni-directional stereo camera comprising two or more omni-directional cameras, and a supporting member installed within a shooting range between the omni-directional cameras to interconnect the omni-directional cameras and including compensation patterns formed at surfaces thereof, the control method comprising: transforming a circular omni-directional image obtained by the omni-directional cameras into a panoramic image using image information; andobtaining an image transformation algorithm and a three-dimensional coordinate estimating algorithm by assuming the respective omni-directional cameras to be independent projection cameras through the panoramic image captured by the omni-directional cameras.

11. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 4, wherein a width of the compensation patterns is equal to a diameter of the rod.

12. The omni-directional stereo camera according to claim 1, wherein the compensation patterns comprise a plurality of bands.