Cross-diffractive optical elements for wide angle geometric camera calibration

Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) can generate multiple two-dimensional (2D) diffraction grids that can be used to calibrate cameras for photogrammetry. However, several factors limit the accuracy and the functionality of this technique. One of the most important is the DOE fabrication itself. A large DOE with wide 2D fan-out grids is very difficult and costly to develop. Consequently, the calibration is limited to small aperture cameras and/or limited angles. To overcome these problems, we present a low cost solution. We propose to use two large, commercially available, crossed phase DOEs that generate 15×15 equally spaced dots. As the DOEs are not perfect, the unwanted secondary diffractive orders are used as calibration targets to expand the calibration field of view. We show that the use of the primary and secondary diffractive orders provides a valuable calibration tool for wide angle aerial cameras.