3D reconstruction using an uncalibrated stereo pair of encoded images

The reconstruction of three dimensional (3-D) objects is used in CAD/CAM, robotics, remote sensing, etc. The models (images) can be either directly acquired by using special devices such as range finders, CTR scanners, etc. or they can be recovered from a series of 2-D images of the object. The authors report on a new method for reconstructing 3-D objects from two 2-D images using CCD cameras. This method uses a pseudo-random encoded grid projected on the object. The grid nodes are used in matching left to right 2-D images. The set of matched points are further used to calculate the disparity of each point of the object surface. Experimental examples illustrate the performance of this simple and elegant technique.