Image Segmentation and Range Estimation Using a Moving-aperture Lens

(ABSTRACT) Given 2D images, it still remains a big challenge in the field of computer vision to group the image points into logical objects (segmentation) and to determine the locations in the scene (range estimation). Despite the decades of research, a single solution is yet to be found. Through our research we have demonstrated that a possible solution is to use moving aperture lens. This lens has the effect of introducing small, repeating movements of the camera center so that objects appear to translate in the image, by an amount that depends on distance from the plane of focus. Our novel method employs optical flow techniques to an image sequence, captured using a video camera with a moving aperture lens. For a stationary scene, optical flow magnitudes and direction are directly related to the three-dimensional object distance and location from the observer. Exploiting this information, we have successfully extracted objects at different depths and estimated the locations of objects in the scene, with respect to the plane of focus. Our work therefore demonstrates an ability for passive range estimation, without emitting any energy in an environment. Other potential applications include video compression, 3D video broadcast, teleconferencing and autonomous vehicle navigation. Acknowledgments I am greatly indebted to Prof. A. Lynn Abbott, for giving me this wonderful opportunity to work on a challenging problem. His highly insightful perspectives and enthusiasm, guided me throughout this work. I like to thank Dr. Amy E. Bell for her encouragement and support throughout this work and especially for introducing me to L A T E X. I also like to thank Prof. Leonard A. Ferrari for devoting some of his valuable time in being part of my advisory committee. Few of my friends, whom I met during my career at IBM, have influenced me in a way more than I had expected. They were the catalysts for my renewed interest in graduate studies. Saraswathi Padhmanabhan, had an unswerving determination to encourage me join graduate school in which she succeeded. I like to acknowledge Joaquim Fernandes, for all his momentous help, whose immense values only I know. Anjani Anant, during a casual talk, lighted in me the spark for graduate studies, when I was about to succumb to the corporate culture. Roshan Bangera, dispelled all the myths I had about graduate studies. E.N. Gururajan and Balaji Srinivasan inspired and helped me a lot to pursue my graduate …