Computer determination of depth maps

The research in support of the integrated robot project Lit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is partially directed towards the problem of visual perception by computer. It is anticipated that the autonomous behavior of the robot will be predicated on the feedback obtained by an analysis of the environment. Thus the robot will be equipped with a pair of identical television cameras which will provide a digitized stereoscopic input. Using the latter, one approach to representing three-dimensional objects in a scene is the depth map. This paper describes a computer method for obtaining the depth map which mirrors the detail in the original scene. To this end, an adaptive correlation window is incorporated as an aid in the solution of the correspondence problem. Heuristic strategies based on local context and texture measures have also been invoked. Results are included which demonstrate the success of the technique.