Abstract
The numerous benefits of real-time 3D awareness for autonomous vehicles have motivated the incorporation of stereo cameras to the perception units of intelligent vehicles. The availability of the distance between camera and objects is essential for such applications as automatic guidance and safeguarding; however, a poor estimation of the position of the objects in front of the vehicle can result in dangerous actions. There is an emphasis, therefore, in the design of perception engines that can make available a rich and reliable interval of ranges in front of the camera. The objective of this research is to develop a stereo head that is capable of capturing 3D information from two cameras simultaneously, sensing different, but complementary, fields of view. In order to do so, the concept of bifocal perception was defined and physically materialized in an experimental bifocal stereo camera. The assembled system was validated through field tests, and results showed that each stereo pair of the head excelled at a singular range interval. The fusion of both intervals led to a more faithful representation of reality.
Highlights
The advantages and flaws of stereoscopic vision systems have been described many times since compact cameras entered the arena of perception sensors
When compared to monocular cameras, the most important advantage brought by stereo cameras is the availability of ranges, that is, the possibility of estimating distances between the camera and objects located in its field of view
The following tests try to show that both cameras are complementary and by merging their three-dimensional information the result is a denser cloud covering a wider interval of ranges, which is desirable for intelligent vehicles perception engines
Summary
The advantages and flaws of stereoscopic vision systems have been described many times since compact cameras entered the arena of perception sensors. When compared to monocular cameras, the most important advantage brought by stereo cameras is the availability of ranges, that is, the possibility of estimating distances between the camera and objects located in its field of view. The addition of the range to the two coordinates already available with monocular cameras implies the possibility of registering a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud, representing the scene more faithfully. The configuration of the camera, especially the baseline and focal length of the lenses, determines the boundaries of such range interval. The fact that ranges are measured with reliability in a relatively narrowband very often results in limitations for those applications that require certain flexibility and versatility in perception
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