Systems and Methods for Estimating Depth Using Stereo Array Cameras

摘要

Systems and methods for stereo imaging with camera arrays in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of generating depth information for an object using two or more array cameras that each include a plurality of imagers includes obtaining a first set of image data captured from a first set of viewpoints, identifying an object in the first set of image data, determining a first depth measurement, determining whether the first depth measurement is above a threshold, and when the depth is above the threshold: obtaining a second set of image data of the same scene from a second set of viewpoints located known distances from one viewpoint in the first set of viewpoints, identifying the object in the second set of image data, and determining a second depth measurement using the first set of image data and the second set of image data.

主权项

1. A stereo array camera, comprising:
a first array camera comprising a plurality of cameras that capture images of a scene from different viewpoints; a second camera, where the second camera captures at least one image of a scene from a different viewpoint to the viewpoints of the cameras in the first array camera; a processor; and memory in communication with the processor; wherein software directs the processor to:
obtain a set of images captured from different viewpoints using the first array camera and the second camera, where the images in the set of images are captured from different viewpoints;select a reference viewpoint relative to the viewpoints of the set of images captured from different viewpoints;determine depth estimates for pixel locations in an image from the reference viewpoint using the images in the set of images captured by the first array camera, wherein generating a depth estimate for a given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint comprises:
identifying pixels in the images captured by the first array camera that correspond to the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint based upon expected disparity at a plurality of depths;comparing the similarity of the corresponding pixels identified at each of the plurality of depths; andselecting the depth from the plurality of depths at which the identified corresponding pixels have the highest degree of similarity as a depth estimate for the given pixel location in the image from the reference viewpoint.