Systems, devices, and methods for imaging and measurement using a stereoscopic camera system

Inventors

Irrgang, Claudio • Meyer, Steven P. • Hirson, Desmond

Assignees

Moleculight Inc

Abstract

A portable, handheld system for target measurement is provided. The system comprises an imaging assembly comprising first and second camera sensors, separated from one another by a fixed separation distance; and a processor operably coupled to the imaging assembly, the processor being configured to: activate the imaging assembly to capture a primary image of the target with the first camera sensor and to capture a secondary image of the target with the second camera sensor, wherein the target is in a field of view of each of the first and second camera sensors; analyze the captured primary and secondary images to determine a pixel shift value for the target; calculate a parallax value between the primary and secondary images using the determined pixel shift value; compute measurement data related to the target based on the calculated parallax value; and output the measurement data to a display of the imaging system.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a portable, handheld imaging system for measurement of a target using two camera sensors fixed at a known separation distance. The system captures a primary image with the first camera sensor and a secondary image with the second camera sensor while the target is in the field of view of both sensors. The processor calibrates the imaging assembly by capturing calibration images and calculating manufacturing coefficients from the captured calibration images, and stores the calculated manufacturing coefficients in a reference table.

After activation, the processor analyzes the captured primary and secondary images to determine a pixel shift value for the target. The processor then calculates a parallax value between the primary image and the secondary image by determining a target-plane pixel size in mm based on the stored manufacturing coefficients and the determined pixel shift value. The processor computes measurement data related to the target based on the calculated parallax value, and outputs the measurement data to a display of the handheld imaging system.

A further disclosed aspect is determining measurement data using contour regions and parallax alignment. The method defines a contour region of the target within the captured primary image on a display screen, determines a pixel shift value within the contour region by applying a parallax algorithm to shift the secondary image until it exactly overlaps the primary image, and calculates a parallax value at a center of the contour region using least-squares linear regression to compute a mm per pixel dimension (Q) and a distance to the target (D). The computed measurement data is based on the defined contour region and the calculated parallax value and is output to the display screen.

Claims Coverage

The document contains two independent claims. Across them, the core coverage centers on calibrating a fixed-separation two-camera handheld system, computing pixel shift and parallax from the primary/secondary images, and outputting target measurement data, with the method claim further constraining processing to a defined contour region and to a parallax overlap plus least-squares regression for Q and D.

Overall, the independent claims cover handheld stereoscopic measurement based on calibrated manufacturing coefficients and pixel-shift-derived parallax from primary and secondary images, and specifically in the method claim use a defined contour region with parallax overlap and least-squares linear regression to compute Q and distance D for output measurement data.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications