Generation of high-resolution stereo panoramic images by omnidirectional imaging sensor using hexagonal pyramidal mirrors

We have developed a high-resolution omnidirectional stereo imaging sensor that can take images at video-rate. The sensor system takes an omnidirectional view by a component constructed of six cameras and a hexagonal pyramidal mirror and acquires stereo views by symmetrically connecting two sensor components. The paper describes a method of generating stereo panoramic images by using our sensor. First, the sensor system is calibrated; that is, twelve cameras are correctly aligned with pyramidal mirrors and the Tsai´s method restores the radial distortion of each camera image. Stereo panoramic images are then computed by registering the camera images captured at the same time.