Advances in computational stereo

Abstract

Extraction of three-dimensional structure of a scene from stereo images is a problem that has been studied by the computer vision community for decades. Early work focused on the fundamentals of image correspondence and stereo geometry. Stereo research has matured significantly throughout the years and many advances in computational stereo continue to be made, allowing stereo to be applied to new and more demanding problems. In this paper, we review recent advances in computational stereo, focusing primarily on three important topics: correspondence methods, methods for occlusion, and real-time implementations. Throughout, we present tables that summarize and draw distinctions among key ideas and approaches. Where available, we provide comparative analyses and we make suggestions for analyses yet to be done.