Using distortion correction to improve the precision of camera calibration

In this paper, we proposed a method to improve the precision of camera calibration through distortion correction. Before calibrating parameters of the camera, we first corrected the distortion of the camera lens in an independent way. Using a specific virtual template, we were able to calculate the ideal projection coordinates in the camera’s image plane and the distortion correction value of the feature points in the template. Taking these feature points as samples, we corrected the distortion of all pixels in the camera’s image plane based on compressed sensing technology. After completing the correction of camera distortion, we established linear equations to estimate the camera’s intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. Finally, the high precision calibration of the camera can be realized. The computer simulation experiment results show that the precision and stability of this calibration method is better than that of the other method. In the practical experiment, we adopted the binocular vision measurement system to prove the precision of the calibration method, and the results show that for the same vision measurement system, using this calibration method significantly reduces measurement error compared to the traditional methods as the maximum error is only 0.074 mm. Which indicates this method is effective for improving the precision of calibration.