Hybrid Dual-Fisheye and Depth Cameras for 3D Motion Imaging

Stereo camera sensors currently available on the market do provide 3D information and scale of the scene, but their performance is limited by a small field of view. In contrast, wide field of view cameras capture a larger portion of the scene, but provide highly distorted images that require specific algorithms to extract the data. By coupling a dual-fisheye camera to a stereo system, users can take advantage of both types of cameras, overcoming their individual drawbacks. The resulting system provides a portion of the dual image with depth data (a pixel map providing the depth of data points), and this seed information helps inform scaled operations in the complete image.

With this goal in mind, developers are proposing a fisheye-depth calibration algorithm for building a camera model. This system was used in a bicycle cycling motion experiment, in which inverse dynamics-based musculoskeletal analysis was used to calculate biomechanical quantities to understand athlete's motion. Data analysis ranged from joint kinematics to muscle forces. The muscular symmetry was determined by investigating inverse kinematics during a cycling motion. External forces applied on each foot were measured and located on pedals. This capability could potentially provide insights in sports and military applications in the future.

About the presenter
Yung-Hsiang Chen has been an engineer working at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) for more than six years. He has also worked as an associate engineer/project manager in the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) for 12 years. Chen's current research interests focus on developing novel optical technology, machine vision, automated optical inspection systems, metrology, and measurement systems. He has received major awards, including the Outstanding Engineer Award for Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE), the Outstanding Metrology Engineer Award for Chinese Metrology Society (CMS), the International Outstanding Inventor Lifetime Achievement Award for International Inventor Prize (IIP).

He is a candidate in the power mechanical engineering doctoral program at National Tsing Hua University and in the doctoral program in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from Feng Chia University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from National Changhua University of Education, and a bachelor’s degree in industrial education and technology from National Changhua University of Education.