3D reconstruction with single image pairs and structured light projection for short-term ultra-high-speed applications

A new approach for a 3D reconstruction algorithm using a single pair of a stereo-camera setup and a structured light projection based on spatial correlation is introduced. In comparison to existing methods using sequences of temporally consecutive images, sufficient 3D-reconstruction quality is achieved, even in the case of ultra-high-speed cameras. This is obtained by iterative application of correspondence finding and filtering operators. The calculation effort of the evaluation, filling, filtering, and outlier removing operators is relative high and may prevent a permanent application of the algorithm to high-resolution long-term recordings. The favored application scenario of the new method is the rough 3D reconstruction and motion tracking of quickly moving objects in short-term processes (few seconds), e.g. in the analysis of crash-test situations. Here, the complete recorded image sequence can be analyzed off-line which allows an afterwards optimization of the parameters. An advantage of the new technique regarding high-speed applications is that fixed single patterns instead of pattern sequences can be used for moving objects and hence no synchronization between projection and cameras is necessary.