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Passive monocular range imaging with a multiple aperture camera

When the iris of a conventional camera is replaced by a mask with multiple apertures, a composite image is formed. Unlike binocular stereopsis, the views from each aperture are superimposed, so that conventional methods in stereo vision do not apply. Still, the local displacement between corresponding points in these views is related to their distance from the camera. This depth cue provides the basis for a new paradigm in passive range sensing--monocular stereopsis. This thesis presents a technique for computing a dense range image from one composite image acquired with a multiple aperture camera. The formation of the composite image is modelled as an echo process, where the depth of a point in the scene is directly related to the spatial delay of its visual echo. Cepstral analysis is the method used to detect this echo. A model of the composite image cepstrum allows measurement of monocular disparity to subpixel precision, as well as an estimate of its associated error distribution. This data, computed over a dense grid, is used to generate a piecewise planar representation of surfaces in the scene, based on a maximum likelihood criterion. Borrowing techniques from visual psychophysics, the spatial resolution of this result is evaluated in terms of an intelligent agent making decisions about its environment. This new range imaging technique is successfully applied to real-world scenes to demonstrate its potential for mobile robot navigation and obstacle avoidance.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.26400
Date January 1994
CreatorsLamb, David G. (David Graham)
ContributorsJones, David G. (advisor), Zucker, Steven W. (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Engineering (Department of Electrical Engineering.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001429648, proquestno: MM99971, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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