Geometric and Color Calibration of Multiview Panoramic Cameras for Life-Size 3D Immersive Video

In this paper we address calibration of camera arrays for life-size 3D video acquisition and display where mosaicking and multiviewpoint stereo are combined to provide an immersive experience which, by its size, resolution, and three-dimensionality, is meant to rival being there. This coupling of multiview and mosaicking requires integration of numerous synchronized video streams in a single presentation, aligned for both panoramic blending and epipolar rectification. The calibration framework we have developed extends the classical checkerboard approach through a modular multi-stage pipeline performing global optimization across intrinsics, extrinsics, panoramas, multiview epipolar alignments, and color correction. We demonstrate the methodology on several multiview camera arrays with various configurations aimed at mosaicking and epipolar light-field analysis. The results of this analysis have driven real-time life-sized panoramic 3D displays of captured events such as a concert, a fashion show, and sports activity.