Camera-projector duality: multi-projector 3D reconstruction

1. A computer implemented method for calibrating at least two projectors for three-dimensional scene reconstruction, the method comprising:

calibrating a first of the projectors with a camera by a calibration module to generate a first camera-projector calibration data;

calibrating a second of the projectors with the camera by the calibration module to generate a second camera-projector calibration data; and

calibrating the first projector with the second projector in a reference coordinate system using the first and second camera-projector calibration data, wherein the reference coordinate system is defined in one of the projectors, and wherein the camera is not in a fixed physical relationship relative to the projectors.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first camera-projector calibration data comprises a translation matrix and a rotation matrix between the first projector and the camera.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first camera-projector calibration data further comprises intrinsic parameters of the first projector.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second camera-projector calibration data comprises a translation matrix and a rotation matrix between the second projector and the camera.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second camera-projector calibration data comprises intrinsic parameters of the second projector.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein calibrating a first of the projectors with a camera comprises:

projecting calibration patterns onto a calibration board;

capturing a plurality of images of the calibration patterns projected by the first of the projectors;

computing position and orientation of the calibration board from the plurality of captured images; and

computing intrinsic parameters of the projector and calibration data between the first of the projectors and the camera.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein calibrating the first projector and the second projector comprises generating calibration data between the first of the projectors and the second of the projectors.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising defining a reference coordinate system in one of the at least two projectors.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying projection rays projected by one of the at least two projectors.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying projection rays projected by one of the at least two projectors comprises:

tagging the projection ray with a distinguishable identification; and

recovering the identification of the projection ray using a plurality of images of calibration patterns projected by the projector.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying a projection ray further comprises using a projection ray tagging coding scheme.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the projection ray tagging coding scheme is time sequential binary codes with phase shift.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the projection ray tagging coding scheme is non-recurring De Brujin sequence patterns.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising reconstructing a three dimensional scene of an input scene using calibration data of a plurality of projectors.

15. A computer implemented method for calibrating at least three projectors for three-dimensional scene reconstruction, the method comprising:

calibrating a first of the projectors with a camera by a calibration module to generate a first camera-projector calibration data;

calibrating a second of the projectors with the camera by the calibration module to generate a second camera-projector calibration data;

calibrating a third of the projectors with the camera by the calibration module to generate a third camera-projector calibration data;

after calibrating the first and second projector with the camera, calibrating the first projector with the second projector using the first and second camera-projector calibration data in a reference coordinate system, wherein the reference coordinate system is defined in one of the three projectors; and

after calibrating the first and third projector with the camera, calibrating the first projector with the third projector using the first and the third camera-projector calibration data in the reference coordinate system, wherein the camera is not in a fixed physical relationship relative to the projectors.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising calibrating the second of the projectors with the third of the projectors using the second and the third camera-projector calibration data.

17. A computer system for calibrating projectors for three-dimensional scene reconstruction, the system comprising:

at least two projectors and at least one camera;

a camera-projector module, configured to calibrate a projector with the camera and to generate a projector-camera calibration data; and

a projector-projector calibration module, configured to calibrate a first of the projectors with a second of the projectors using projector-camera calibration data in a reference coordinate system, wherein the reference coordinate system is defined in one of the projectors and wherein the camera is not in a fixed physical relationship relative to the projectors.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein a camera-projector calibration data comprises a translation matrix and a rotation matrix between the projector and the camera.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein a camera-projector calibration data further comprises intrinsic parameters of the projector.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein a camera-projector calibration module is configured to:

project calibration patterns onto a calibration board;

capture a plurality of images of the calibration patterns projected by the first of the projectors;

compute position and orientation of the calibration board from the plurality of captured images; and

compute intrinsic parameters of the projector and calibration data between the first of the projectors and the camera.

21. The system of claim 17 , wherein the projector-projector calibration module is configured to generate calibration data between the first of the projectors and the second of the projectors.

22. The system of claim 17 , wherein the camera-projector calibration module is further configured to define a reference coordinate system in one of the at least two projectors.

23. The system of the claim 17 , further comprising a projection ray identification module configured to identify projection rays projected by one of the at least two projectors.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the projection ray identification module is configured to:

tag a projection ray with a distinguishable identification; and

recover the identification of the projection ray using a plurality of images of calibration patterns projected by the projector.

25. The system of claim 23 , wherein the projection ray identification module is further configured to use a projection ray tagging coding scheme.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the projection ray tagging coding scheme is time sequential binary codes with phase shift.

27. The system of claim 17 , further comprising a three-dimensional scene reconstruction module configured to reconstruct a three-dimensional scene of an input scene using calibration data of a plurality of projectors.

28. A computer system for calibrating a plurality of projectors for three-dimensional scene reconstruction, the method comprising:

at least three projectors and at least one camera;

a camera-projector module, configured to:

calibrate a first of the projectors with the camera to generate a first projector-camera calibration data;

calibrate a second of the projectors with the camera to generate a second camera-projector calibration data;

calibrate a third of the projectors with the camera to generate a third camera-projector calibration data; and

a projector-projector calibration module, configured to:

after calibrating the first and second projector with the camera, calibrate the first projector with the second projector using the first and second camera-projector calibration data in a reference coordinate system, wherein the reference coordinate system is defined in one of the three projectors; and

after calibrating the first and third projector with the camera, calibrate the first projector with the third projector using the first and the third camera-projector calibration data in the reference coordinate system, wherein the camera is not in a fixed physical relationship relative to the projectors.

29. The system of claim 28 , wherein the projector-projector calibration module is further configured to calibrate the second projector with the third projector using the second and the third camera-projector calibration data.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable computer program code for calibrating at least two projectors for three-dimensional scene reconstruction, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code for:

calibrating a first of the projectors with a camera to generate a first camera-projector calibration data;

calibrating a second of the projectors with the camera to generate a second camera-projector calibration data; and

calibrating the first projector with the second projector using the first and second camera-projector calibration data in a reference coordinate system, wherein the reference coordinate system is defined in one of the projectors and wherein the camera is not in a fixed physical relationship relative to the projectors.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable computer program code for calibrating at least three projectors for three-dimensional scene reconstruction, the computer program code comprising code for:

calibrating a first of the projectors with a camera by a calibration module to generate a first camera-projector calibration data;

calibrating a second of the projectors with the camera by the calibration module to generate a second camera-projector calibration data;

calibrating a third of the projectors with the camera by the calibration module to generate a third camera-projector calibration data;

after calibrating the first and second projector with the camera, calibrating the first projector and the second projector using the first and second camera-projector calibration data in a reference coordinate system, wherein the reference coordinate system is defined in one of the three projectors; and

after calibrating the first and third projector with the camera, calibrating the first projector with the third projector using the first and the third camera-projector calibration data in the reference coordinate system, wherein the camera is not in a fixed physical relationship relative to the projectors.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31 , further comprising computer program code for calibrating the second projector with the third projector using the second and the third camera-projector calibration data.