Camera Geometries for Image Matching in 3-D Machine Vision

The location of a scene element can be determined from the disparity of two of its depicted entities (each in a different image). Prior to establishing disparity, however, the correspondence problem must be solved. It is shown that for the axial-motion stereo camera model the probability of determining unambiguous correspondence assignments is significantly greater than that for other stereo camera models. However, the mere geometry of the stereo camera system does not provide sufficient information for uniquely identifying correct correspondences. Therefore, additional constraints derived from justifiable assumptions about the scene domain and from the scene radiance model are utilized to reduce the number of potential matches. The measure for establishing the correct correspondence is shown to be a function of the geometrical constraints, scene constraints, and scene radiance model. >