Catadioptric Vision System

Wide field of view of a vision system is desirable in many applications. The Catadioptric vision system, which combines reflective mirror and refractive lens, is an effective way to enlarge its viewing angle compared with the traditional system. In this chapter, we will present some recent development in the related research field. We firstly introduce the backgrounds of the Catadioptric vision system. Then three different systems are elaborated and they are: (1) panoramic stereoscopic system which cooperates a fisheye lens camera and a convex reflective mirror; (2) parabolic camera system which consists of a paraboloid-shaped mirror and a CCD camera with orthographic projection; and (3) hyperbolic camera system which combines a hyperboloid-shaped mirror and a CCD camera. All of these systems have two important characteristics: one is a single effective viewpoint and the other is wide field of view. The mathematical models of the imaging process are investigated and the calibration algorithms with different tools are explored.