Estimation of Distance for Detection of Obstacle Using Complex Log Mapping

In this paper, a new method is proposed to measure the distance from the camera to an object’s surface with arbitrary digital images. The method uses two images which are taken at two camera positions while moving the camera along its optical axis. The distance between the two camera positions is assumed to be known. The distance from the camera to the object is computed by calculating the ratio between the sizes of the object projected on the two images. To calculate the ratio, Complex Log Mapping is applied according to the fact that the two images have concentric circles features. In the complex log mapping, the original images are mapped from the orthogonal coordinate system to the polar coordinate system.