Multimodal Dense Stereo Matching

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new approach for dense depth estimation based on multimodal stereo images. Our approach employs a combined cost function utilizing robust metrics and a transformation to an illumination independent representation. Additionally, we present a confidence based weighting scheme which allows a pixel-wise weight adjustment within the cost function. We demonstrate the capabilities of our approach using RGB- and thermal images. The resulting depth maps are evaluated by comparing them to depth measurements of a Velodyne HDL-64E LiDAR sensor. We show that our method outperforms current state of the art dense matching methods regarding depth estimation based on multimodal input images.