A structured-light system for depth estimation is a type of 3D active sensor that consists of a structured-light projector that projects an illumination pattern on the scene (e. g. mask with vertical stripes) and a camera which captures the illuminated scene. Based on the received patterns, depths of different regions in the scene can be inferred. In this paper, we use side information in the form of image structure to enhance the depth map. This side information is obtained from the received light pattern image reflected by the scene itself. The processing steps run real time. This post-processing stage in the form of depth map enhancement can be used for better hand gesture recognition, as is illustrated in this paper.
