Projection Model and Calibration Method for Multi-camera Systems with Ultra-wide Field-of-view Fisheye Lenses

Changhee Won, Jongwoo Lim

http://doi.org/10.5626/JOK.2024.51.11.1005

Fisheye lenses with a wide field-of-view (FoV) are commonly utilized as sensors for mobile platforms such as cars and robots due to their capacity to recognize a large area at once. Algorithms that utilize multiple fisheye cameras to estimate distances and platform movements in all directions of 360 degrees have been developed and are presently deployed as robot sensors and for 3D modeling. In this paper, we present a novel projection model for fisheye lenses with an ultra-wide FoV exceeding 220 degrees. Next, we introduce a multi-camera system calibration method that can efficiently and accurately estimate the calibration of intrinsic and extrinsic parameters for a multi-camera system equipped with these lenses. The proposed methodology has successfully calibrated a range of systems, spanning from compact helmet-mounted capture devices to larger car-mounted systems. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves sub-pixel calibration accuracy.