Method and apparatus for producing 3D model of an environment
US8532368B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 15, 2011 |
| Grant date | Sep 10, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 15, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/10021
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a system (method and apparatus) for creating photorealistic 3D models of environments and/or objects from a plurality of stereo images obtained from a mobile stereo camera and optional monocular cameras. The cameras may be handheld, mounted on a mobile platform, manipulator or a positioning device. The system automatically detects and tracks features in image sequences and self-references the stereo camera in 6 degrees of freedom by matching the features to a database to track the camera motion, while building the database simultaneously. A motion estimate may be also provided from external sensors and fused with the motion computed from the images. Individual stereo pairs are processed to compute dense 3D data representing the scene and are transformed, using the estimated camera motion, into a common reference and fused together. The resulting 3D data is represented as point clouds, surfaces, or volumes. The present invention also provides a system (method and apparatus) for enhancing 3D models of environments or objects by registering information from additional sensors to improve model fidelity or to augment it with supplementary information by us…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.