Camera calibration and distance measurement using parallel lines

1. A method for estimating a real world distance in an image, comprising:

obtaining an image from a camera installed in an environment;

identifying, in the image, a first set of parallel lines on a real world ground plane and a second set of parallel lines on the real world ground plane;

determining a first intersection point of the first set of parallel lines mapped on an image plane and a second intersection point of the second set of parallel lines mapped on the image plane;

identifying a ground line connecting the first intersection point and the second intersection point;

estimating an internal camera matrix based on a focal length and an image size associated with the camera; and

calibrating the camera for real world distance measurement by determining a perpendicular vector to the ground line based on the internal camera matrix.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image or a subsequent image from the camera of the environment includes a first object having a known height and a second object having an unknown height, further comprising:

determining a height metric of the second object using the perpendicular vector to the ground line and the known height of the first object.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the height metric of the second object comprises:

determining an intersection between the ground line and a vector passing through a first ground point on the first object and a second ground point on the second object;

calculating a virtual line in a plane comprising the first object and the second object that is perpendicular to the ground line and includes the intersection;

determining a homography matrix that transforms the virtual line to a canonical form;

calculating a first rectified top point on the first object and second rectified top point on the second object using the homography matrix; and

calculating the height metric of the second object based on the first rectified top point and the first ground point of the first object and the second rectified top point and the second ground point of the second object.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the height metric of the second object is proportional to the known height of the first object.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first object is a stationary object in the environment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of parallel lines intersect with the second set of parallel lines.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of parallel lines are perpendicular to the second set of parallel lines in the real world ground plane.

8. An apparatus for estimating a real world distance in an image, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to:

obtain an image from a camera installed in an environment;

identify, in the image, a first set of parallel lines on a real world ground plane and a second set of parallel lines on the real world ground plane;

determine a first intersection point of the first set of parallel lines and a second intersection point of the second set of parallel lines;

identify a ground line connecting the first intersection point and the second intersection point;

estimate an internal camera matrix based on a focal length and an image size associated with the camera; and

calibrate the camera for real world distance measurement by determining a perpendicular vector to the ground line based on the internal camera matrix.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the image or a subsequent image from the camera of the environment includes a first object having a known height and a second object having an unknown height, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a height metric of the second object using the perpendicular vector to the ground line and the known height of the first object.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein to determine the height metric of the second object comprises to:

determine an intersection between the ground line and a vector through a first ground point on the first object and a second ground point on the second object;

calculate a virtual line in a plane comprising the first object and the second object that is perpendicular to the ground line and includes the intersection;

determine a homography matrix that transforms the virtual line to a canonical form;

calculate a first rectified top point on the first object and second rectified top point on the second object using the homography matrix; and

calculate the height metric of the second object based on the first rectified top point and the first ground point of the first object and the second rectified top point and the second ground point of the second object.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the height metric of the second object is proportional to the known height of the first object.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the first object is a stationary object in the environment.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first set of parallel lines intersect with the second set of parallel lines.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first set of parallel lines are perpendicular to the second set of parallel lines in the real world ground plane.

15. An non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for estimating a real world distance in an image, wherein the instructions are executable by one or more processors to:

obtain an image from a camera installed in an environment;

identify, in the image, a first set of parallel lines on a real world ground plane and a second set of parallel lines on the real world ground plane;

determine a first intersection point of the first set of parallel lines and a second intersection point of the second set of parallel lines;

identify a ground line connecting the first intersection point and the second intersection point;

estimate an internal camera matrix based on a focal length and an image size associated with the camera; and

calibrate the camera for real world distance measurement by determining a perpendicular vector to the ground line based on the internal camera matrix.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the image or a subsequent image from the camera of the environment includes a first object having a known height and a second object having an unknown height, further comprising instructions executable by the one or more processors to:

determine a height metric of the second object using the perpendicular vector to the ground line and the known height of the first object.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein an instruction to determine the height metric of the second object comprises instructions executable by the one or more processors to:

determine an intersection between the ground line and a vector through a first ground point on the first object and a second ground point on the second object;

calculate a virtual line in a plane comprising the first object and the second object that is perpendicular to the ground line and includes the intersection;

determine a homography matrix that transforms the virtual line to a canonical form;

calculate a first rectified top point on the first object and second rectified top point on the second object using the homography matrix; and

calculate the height metric of the second object based on the first rectified top point and the first ground point of the first object and the second rectified top point and the second ground point of the second object.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the height metric of the second object is proportional to the known height of the first object.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the first object is a stationary object in the environment.