Evaluation of Modern Dynamic Programming Algorithms for Real-time Active Stereo Systems

Nahmias,J.D., Steed,A. Buxton,B.

Abstract:
Stereo Vision has been an active research field that has produced a whole myriad of excellent algorithms. Unfortunately most of the algorithms that produce superior results rely on non-linear optimization techniques that are very computationally expensive, and therefore not feasible to use for real-time applications such as tele-immersion. This paper will examine a number of real-time stereo algorithms based on dynamic programming (DP) used in conjunction with structured light in order to improve the quality and facilitate the correspondence search. We will examine some of the early DP algorithms as well as the more recent work produced by [Criminisi et al] for the purpose of Gaze manipulation for teleconferencing in the context of 3d reconstruction. Certain assumptions used in the [Birchfield et al] DP algorithm are broken when used in conjunction with structured light. These will be discussed and alternative implementations will be proposed, including using spatial-temporal support region for computing matching costs. The results of various implementations will be presented and discussed within the context of attempting to support real-time tele-immersion applications.