Accurate and simple geometric calibration of multi-camera systems

In this paper we present a low-cost, accurate and flexible approach to the calibration of multi-camera acquisition systems for 3D scene modeling. The adopted calibration target-set is just a marked planar surface, which is im aged in several positions in order to emulate a larger 3D target-frame. In order to obtain a better camera parameter estimation, the proposed approach is able to refine the a priori knowledge on the target-set through a proce ss of self-calibration. This allows us to start with rough measurements of the coordinates of the calibration targets. We formalize our parameter esti mation problem as a particular case of the more general class of inverse pr oblem. In particular, we derive an analytic prediction of the calibration p erformance, based on error propagation analysis, whose correctness is demon strated through simulation experiments. Finally, the results of a series of calibration experiments on real data is presented, which confirm the effec tiveness of approach in a variety of experimental conditions. reserved.