Abstract:
Stereoscopic panoramic imaging is a relatively new image acquisition technology for capturing the 3D world. Special-purpose camera architectures like stereoscopic panoramic cameras create a need to study specific (geometric) relations between 3D scene complexities and intended panoramic images or visualizations. The thesis contributes to such basic studies of modelling and analyzing processes of panoramic imaging.
This thesis accompanies recent developments of rotating line cameras, allowing the capture of stereoscopic panoramic images. In particular, it addresses key design issues such as image quality control problems, analysis criteria and methods for reliable and sophisticated stereoscopic panoramic imaging.
Main contributions of this thesis include the development of an efficient image quality control method, the formal analysis of the camera geometry (which leads to an optimized design of camera parameters), and a firm establishment of geometric fundamentals for stereoscopic panorama acquisition.
Results of the thesis are of potential interest for different applications including 3D visualization, shape reconstruction, 3D animations (virtual reality, e.g. walk-through effects, common in scientific visualizations or games), localization or route planning for robots, and surveillance.