Panoramic Vision: Sensors, Theory and Applications

Citation

Rigelsford, J. (2002), "Panoramic Vision: Sensors, Theory and Applications", Sensor Review, Vol. 22 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2002.08722bae.003

Panoramic Vision: Sensors, Theory and Applications

R. Benosman and S. B. Kang (Eds.)Springer2001449 pp.ISBN 0-387-95111-3£66.50 (Hardcover)

Keywords: Sensors, Vision

"Panoramic Vision: Sensors, Theory and Applications" presents the rebirth of panoramic vision as it is applied to computer vision. It focuses on the creation and analysis of images with fields of view that are much greater than those obtained from typical cameras. The book comprises twenty chapters divided into four sections. After and introductory chapter, chapter 2 presents A Brief Historical Perspective on Panorama.

Section I, Catadioptric (the use of glass elements and mirrors) Cameras, focuses on central, single-capture systems that are designed to cover a wide filed of view with a single image capture and with no parallax. Four chapters are included in this section and address: the Development of Low-Cost Compact Omnidirectional Vision Systems; Single Viewpoint Catadioptric Cameras; Epipolar Geometry of Central Panoramic Catadioptric Cameras; and Folded Catadioptric Cameras, respectively.

Section II comprises five chapters which discuss Panoramic Stereo Vision Systems. Chapters 7 and 8 present A Real-Time Panoramic Stereo Imaging System and Its Applications, and Panoramic Imaging with Horizontal Stereo. A Panoramic Stereovision Sensor is introduced in chapter 9, while the following two chapters discuss the Calibration of the Stereovision Panoramic Sensor, and Matching Linear Stereoscopic Images, respectively.

Section II, Techniques for Generating Panoramic Images, focuses on software approaches for generating panoramic images. Most of the techniques presented use conventional cameras. The five chapters included in this section discuss: the Characterization of Errors in Compositing Cylindrical Panoramic Images; Construction of Panoramic Image Mosaics with Global and Local Alignment; Self-Calibration of Zooming Cameras from a Single Viewpoint; 360x360 Mosaics: Regular and Stereoscopic; and Mosaicing with Strips on Adaptive Manifolds.

The final section of this book discusses applications for panoramic vision systems. Chapter 17 addresses 3D Environmental Modelling from Multiple Cylindrical Panoramic Images, while N-Ocular Stereo for Real-Time Human Tracking is discussed in chapter 18. The remaining two chapters present Identifying and Localizing Robots with Omnidirectional Vision Systems, and Video Representation and Manipulation Using Mosaics, respectively.

Overall, this is an informative and coherent reference text that provides details of current research in this field. It is suitable for researchers and professionals involved with computer vision, virtual reality, teleconferencing, imaging systems, and robotics.

Jon Rigelsford