Techniques for generating robust stereo images from a pair of corresponding stereo images captured with and without the use of a flash device

摘要

Techniques for generating robust depth maps from stereo images are described. A robust depth map is generated from a set of stereo images captured with and without flash illumination. The depth map is more robust than depth maps generated using conventional techniques because a pixel-matching algorithm is implemented that weights pixels in a matching window according to the ratio of light intensity captured using different flash illumination levels. The ratio map provides a rough estimate of depth relative to neighboring pixels that enables the flash/no-flash pixel-matching algorithm to devalue pixels that appear to be located at different depths than the central pixel in the matching window. In addition, the ratio map may be used to filter the generated depth map to generate a smooth estimate for the depth of objects within the stereo image.