Range Estimation by Optical Differentiation

H. Farid

Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, 1997

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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 (or aperture size). This method uses a single stationary camera and a pair of calibrated optical masks to directly measure this differential quantity. The subsequent computation of the range image involves simple arithmetic combinations, and is suitable for real-time implementation. Both the theoretical and practical implications of this formulation are addressed.