Flexible and User-Centric Camera Calibration using Planar Fiducial Markers

Abstract

The benefit of accurate camera calibration for recovering 3D structure from images is a well-studied topic. Recently 3D vision tools for end-user applications have become popular among large audiences, mostly unskilled in computer vision. This motivates the need for a flexible and user-centric camera calibration method which drastically releases the critical requirements on the calibration target and ensures that low-quality or faulty images provided by end users do not degrade the overall calibration and in effect the resulting 3D model. In this paper we present and advocate an approach to camera calibration using fiducial markers, aiming at the accuracy of target calibration techniques without the requirement for a precise calibration pattern, to ease the calibration effort for the end-user. An extensive set of experiments with real images is presented which demonstrates improvements in the estimation of the parameters of the camera model as well as accuracy in the multi-view stereo reconstruction of large scale scenes. Pixel reprojection errors and ground truth errors obtained by our method are significantly lower compared to popular calibration routines, even though paper-printable and easy-to-use targets are employed.