Depth Estimation - An Introduction

Abstract

Depth estimation or extraction refers to the set of techniques and algorithms aiming to obtain a representation of the spatial structure of a scene. In other terms, to obtain a measure of the distance of, ideally, each point of the seen scene. We will talk, as well, about 3D vision. In this chapter we will review the main topics, problems and proposals about depth estimation, as an introduction to the Stereo Vision research field. This review will deal with some essential and structural aspects of the image processing field, as well as with the depth perception capabilities and conditions of both computer and human based systems.