Range estimation by optical differentiation

摘要

We describe a novel formulation of the range recovery problem based on computation of the differential variation in image intensities with respect to changes in camera position. This method uses a single stationary camera and a pair of calibrated optical masks to measure this differential quantity directly. We also describe a variant based on changes in aperture size. The subsequent computation of the range image involves simple arithmetic operations and is suitable for real-time implementation. We present the theory of this technique and show results from a prototype camera that we have constructed. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America. [References: 21]