Resolution enhancement in multi-image stereo

Under stereo settings, the twin problems of image superresolution (SR) and high-resolution (HR) depth estimation are intertwined. The subpixel registration information required for image superresolution is tightly coupled to the 3D structure. The effects of parallax and pixel averaging (inherent in the downsampling process) preclude a priori estimation of pixel motion for superresolution. These factors also compound the correspondence problem at low resolution (LR), which in turn affects the quality of the LR depth estimates. In this paper, we propose an integrated approach to estimate the HR depth and the SR image from multiple LR stereo observations. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method in not only being able to bring out image details but also in enhancing the HR depth over its LR counterpart.