Equal Baseline Camera Array—Calibration, Testbed and Applications

This paper presents research on 3D scanning by taking advantage of a camera array consisting of up to five adjacent cameras. Such an array makes it possible to make a disparity map with a higher precision than a stereo camera, however it preserves the advantages of a stereo camera such as a possibility to operate in wide range of distances and in highly illuminated areas. In an outdoor environment, the array is a competitive alternative to other 3D imaging equipment such as Structured-light 3D scanners or Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). The considered kinds of arrays are called Equal Baseline Camera Array (EBCA). This paper presents a novel approach to calibrating the array based on the use of self-calibration methods. This paper also introduces a testbed which makes it possible to develop new algorithms for obtaining 3D data from images taken by the array. The testbed was released under open-source. Moreover, this paper shows new results of using these arrays with different stereo matching algorithms including an algorithm based on a convolutional neural network and deep learning technology.