Axi-vision camera (real-time distance-mapping camera.pdf

cAxi-Vision Camera ~real-time distance-mapping camera! Masahiro Kawakita, Keigo Iizuka, Tahito Aida, Hiroshi Kikuchi, Hideo Fujikake, Jun Yonai, and Kuniharu Takizawa The camera described here makes color TV images that include information about the distance between the camera and the objects in the images. This range information is obtained from two images of the same scene taken under different illumination conditions. The camera does not require scanning, multiple camera units, or complicated computation. Range information for each pixel is acquired fast enough to keep up with the video rate of a TV camera. We describe various operational features and technical specifications such as ranging errors as well as the results of experimental investigations of the dependence on the color and reflectivity of the objects, of the sensitivity to interference from external light, and of the effects of the movement of the objects. ? 2000 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 110.6880, 150.6910, 150.5670, 120.6650, 100.6890.1. Introduction Three-dimensional ~3-D! camera systems are finding a wide range of applications today, for example, in 3-D TV broadcasting and in robotic vision as well as in graphics animation, surveying, and navigation. The cameras in these systems need to operate in real time with high resolution in both longitudinal and lateral directions. Triangulation is one of the most popular ranging methods, and it uses mechanically scanned illumination.1–4 Other methods use structured light projection5–7 or stereoscopes with multiple stationary ameras or a moving camera.8,9 The methods that use a scanned laser beam, however, are slow. And al- though the use of a stereoscopic photograph elimi- nates the need for a scanning beam, quantitative range information can be obtained only after complex signal processing. The time-of-flight method, in contrast, offers quick and straightforward information processing.10–12 A time-of-flight simultaneous 3-D imaging system wi