Geometric Modeling of a Panoramic Camera

Panoramic camera for photogrammetric applications

Sub-project Kamera- und Systemtechnik Dresden:
Optomechanic and electronic system of a digital panoramic camera

Sub-project TU Dresden, Professur Photogrammetrie:
Geometric modeling, calibration und processing methods

Sub-project fokus GmbH Leipzig:
Application concepts and development of software environments

Funding

This project was funded by resources of the European Fund of Regional Development (EFRE) 2000 - 2006 and by resources of the State Saxony (coordinator Sächsische Aufbaubank SAB)

Description of the project

So far 360° panoramic cameras have been used mainly for the recording of landscapes or indoor environments. In photogrammetic applications the use of a rotation line camera, i.e. a digital panoramic camera with a rotating sensor line, provides an interesting alternative to conventional methods. In particular it offers a very high resolution and therefore an appropriate recognizability of small details. In case of the camera prototype developed from our project partner KST Dresden GmbH  ("EyeScan M3 metric") it has a resolution of about 1 Gigapixel per 360° panoramic image.

The imaging principle follows the central perspective geometry, which is the basis for most convential camera systems, only in one coordinate direction. Therefore a geometric model of rotation line cameras was developed and analysed with the help of the camera prototype. Several construction-dependent and optical characteristics of the physical camera systems might cause deviations of the geometric basis model. These deviations were considered applying additional parameters within the model approach, whereby the precision resulting from a space resection could be increased on less than 1 pixel.

Furthermore, on the basis of the developed geometric model, different photogrammetric applications were implemented, for example a panoramic bundle adjustment or a tangential projection for the generation of high-resolution central perspective images.

The developed algorithms were integrated in software with an interactive user interface of the company fokus GmbH Leipzig ("metigo pan"). In a subsequent project the 3D panoramic processing and terrestrial laser scanning was combined in a way, that both recording methods complement each other. Thus, the range of applications of 360° panoramic cameras was spreaded considerably.

Contact

The project was executed in cooperation with the companies Kamera & System Technik (KST) and fokuks GmbH Leipzig.

Supervision:
Prof. Dr. habil. Hans-Gerd Maas

Persons in charge:
Dipl.-Ing. Anne Bienert
Dipl.-Ing. Danilo Schneider