Pinhole Camera Model

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Computer Vision

Related Concepts

Affine Camera; Camera Calibration; Center of Projection; Focal Length; Image Plane; Optical Axis; Weak Perspective Projection

Definition

The pinhole camera model is the basic camera model used in computer vision. Its name originates from the concept of pinhole camera and it models perspective projections.

Background

The pinhole model is the basic camera model used in computer vision. Its name stems from the concept of pinhole camera [1] (also related to the camera obscura [2]): usually, a closed box into which a single tiny hole is made with a pin, through which light may enter and hit a photosensitive surface inside the box (cf. Fig. 1). Pinhole cameras allow to take photographs of objects, which usually requires long exposure times due to the small aperture. The principles behind pinhole cameras and the camera obscura have been known, at least partially, since the fourth century BC [2].

Pinhole Camera Model, Fig. 1
figure 1515 figure 1515

Left: sketch of a pinhole camera. Right: the two...

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References

  1. Wikipedia (2011) Pinhole camera. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_camera. Accessed 3 Aug 2011

  2. Wikipedia (2011) Camera obscura. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura. Accessed 5 Aug 2011

  3. Tistarelli M, Sandini G (1993) On the advantage of polar and log-polar map** for direct estimation of time-to-impact from optical flow. IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell 15(4):401–410

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  4. Pardo F, Dierickx B, Scheffer D (1997) CMOS foveated image sensor: signal scaling and small geometry effects. IEEE Trans Electron Devices 44(10):1731–1737

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  5. Sturm P, Ramalingam S, Tardif JP, Gasparini S, Barreto J (2011) Camera models and fundamental concepts used in geometric computer vision. Found Trends Comput Graph Vis 6(1–2):1–183

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  6. Hartley R, Zisserman A (2004) Multiple view geometry in computer vision, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

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Sturm, P. (2014). Pinhole Camera Model. In: Ikeuchi, K. (eds) Computer Vision. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31439-6_472

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