Virtual stereovision system: new understanding on single-lens stereovision using a biprism

Some new understanding of a single-lens binocular stereovision system using a biprism ( 2F filter) is presented. One image captured by this system is divided into two halves and assumed to be one stereo image pair captured by two virtual cameras generated by the biprism. Hence, this system can also be called a virtual stereovision system. Two different approaches to understanding this system are introduced. One approach is based on a camera calibration technique and another is based on a geometrical analysis of ray sketching. Both approaches enable this system to perform depth recovery in a close range like a typical stereovision system. As the approach based on geometrical analysis requires no complex calibration, great implementation and calibration effort can be saved, in contrast with a normal stereovision system. This approach provides a way to build a binocular stereovision system with a simpler implementation but sufficient accuracy. A complete analysis of this system and the related calibration, depth recovery, and experimentation techniques are presented. Experimentation results are presented to prove the effectiveness of both approaches used to understand this system. (c) 2005 SPIE and IS&T.