Close-range photogrammetry with light field camera: from disparity map to absolute distance.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Computer Vision
• Metrology

Background:

• Accurate 3D surface profiling is crucial for various scientific and industrial applications.
• Traditional 3D measurement methods can be complex or limited in scope.
• Light field imaging offers a unique approach to capturing 3D information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a new method for measuring the 3D profile of texture objects using light field imaging.
• To develop a robust pipeline for 3D reconstruction from light field data.
• To investigate and mitigate depth errors in the proposed measurement technique.

Main Methods:

• Acquisition of light field images of texture objects.
• Generation of a disparity map using a multilabel technique on epipolar plane images.
• Extraction of intrinsic camera parameters through camera calibration.
• Establishment of disparity-to-distance relationship via linear depth calibration.
• Investigation and compensation of depth errors using a checkerboard pattern.

Main Results:

• The proposed method successfully measures the 3D profile of texture objects.
• Experimental results show good agreement with established 3D models.
• The linear calibration method achieves accurate depth measurements.
• Depth error compensation effectively improves measurement precision.

Conclusions:

• Light field imaging is a viable and promising technique for 3D measurement.
• The developed approach provides an accurate and efficient method for 3D surface profiling.
• Further research can explore advanced applications of light field imaging in 3D metrology.