Development of a Low-Cost, High-Speed Stereo Vision System Using a CMOS Imager and DSP

Abstract

This article presents the development of a low-cost, high-speed stereo vision system for embedded use employing a mass-produced CMOS imager and a commercially available DSP. We use the system to acquire an image of 96×96 pixels in a period of 1 ms. We embed a read region movement control and a target track function into the system and successfully track a target point within a period of 3 ms. The difference between this high-speed stereo vision system and traditional ones lies in that this system is intended to be used even in a small-scale control system using a microcomputer. We limit the capacity of the image memory in which acquired pixel data is temporarily stored and performed real time processing. As a result, we eliminate frame memory and thus simplify its corresponding circuit. This allows the system to be reduced in size, power consumption, and cost, thereby making the system appropriate for embedded devices, batterypowered robots, and the like.