Characterization of Errors in Compositing Panoramic Images

Authors: Kang S.B.¹; Weiss R.²

Source: Computer Vision and Image Understanding, Volume 73, Number 2, February 1999 , pp. 269-280(12)

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Abstract:

A panoramic image has a 360° horizontal field of view, and it can provide the viewer the impression of being immersed in the scene. A panorama is created by first taking a sequence of images while rotating the camera about a vertical axis. These images are then projected onto a cylindrical surface before being seamlessly composited. The cross-sectional circumference of the cylindrical panorama is called the compositing length. This work characterizes the error in compositing panoramic images due to errors in some of the intrinsic parameters. The intrinsic camera parameters that are considered are the camera focal length and the radial distortion coefficient. We show that the error in the compositing length is more sensitive to the error in the camera focal length. Especially important is the discovery that the relative error in compositing length is always smaller than the relative error in the focal length. This means that the error in focal length can be corrected by iteratively using the composited length to compute a new and more correct focal length. This compositing approach to camera calibration has the advantages of not requiring both feature detection and separate prior calibration. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Language: English

Document Type: Short communication

Affiliations: 1: Compaq Computer Corporation, Cambridge Research Lab, One Kendall Square, Bldg. 700, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 2: Compaq Computer Corporation, Alpha Development Group, 334 South Str. SHR3-1/S30, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, 01545

Publication date: 1999-02-01