Simultaneous registration of multiple corresponding point sets

We present a new technique for the simultaneous registration of multiple co rresponding point sets with rigid 3D transformations. This class of problem s is a generalization of the classic pairwise point set registration task, involving multiple views with multiple correspondences existing between the m. The proposed technique requires the computation of a constant matrix whi ch encodes the point correspondence information, followed by an efficient i terative algorithm to compute the optimal rotations. The optimal translatio ns are then recovered directly through the solution of a linear equation sy stem. The algorithm supports weighting of data according to confidence, and we show how it may be incorporated into two robust estimation frameworks t o detect and reject outlier data. We have integrated our method into a gene ralized multiview ICP surface matching system and tested it with synthetic and real data. These tests indicate that the technique is accurate and effi cient. The algorithm also compares favorably to another multiview technique from the literature. (C) 2001 Academic Press.