Near real-time stereo vision system

摘要

Apparatus and methods for near real-time stereo vision system for use with a robotic vehicle comprises two cameras mounted on three-axis rotation platforms, image-processing boards, a CPU, and specialized stereo vision algorithms. Bandpass-filtered image pyramids are computed, stereo matching is performed by least-squares correlation, and confidence ranges are estimated by means of Bayes' theorem. In particular, Laplacian image pyramids are built and disparity maps are produced from the 60x64 level of the pyramids at rates of up to 2 seconds per image pair. The first autonomous cross-country robotic traverses (of up to 100 meters) have been achieved using the stereo vision system of the present invention with all computing due aboard the vehicle. The overall approach disclosed herein provides a unifying paradigm for practical domain-independent stereo ranging.