Generation of high-resolution stereo panoramic images by omnidirectional imaging sensor using hexagonal pyramidal mirrors

We have developed a high-resolution omnidirectional stereo imaging sensor that can take images at video-rate. The sensor system takes an omnidirectional view by a component constructed of six cameras and a hexagonal pyramidal mirror and acquires stereo views by symmetrically connecting two sensor components. The paper describes a method of generating stereo panoramic images by using our sensor. First, the sensor system is calibrated; that is, twelve cameras are correctly aligned with pyramidal mirrors and the Tsai's method restores the radial distortion of each camera image. Stereo panoramic images are then computed by registering the camera images captured at the same time.