Optical device for computation of binocular stereo disparity with a single static camera

Abstract

This paper presents a new device and technique for computing the stereo disparity of two binocular optical images using the data from a single sensor. The device, comprising a mirror and beamsplitter, superimposes the two views onto a single sensor to produce a single additive composite image. Local (i.e. windowed) Fourier analysis of this composite image yields the phase difference between the two component images and, thereby, the stereo disparity. The primary advantages of this approach are that it allows existing monocular cameras (digital or analogue, interlaced or non-interlaced) to be converted to stereo at relatively little cost and effort. Results are presented for both simulated images and images acquired with a prototype single-sensor stereo camera. As currently conceived, the approach would probably not be appropriate as a general-purpose technique for the computation of detailed structure of the environment -- and it certainly won't supplant existing multi-camera stereo systems for complex problems -- but it is suitable for simple stereo-based applications, such as obstacle avoidance and segmentation.