High-precision and flexible calibration method of non-overlapping array cameras

In this paper, a high-precision and flexible intrinsic and extrinsic parameters calibration method for non-overlapping array cameras is proposed. In the camera array system, each camera employs an individual planar calibration board to achieve intrinsic parameters calibration. Without assistance of any other coded or un-coded target, the extrinsic parameters of array cameras can be flexibly calibrated based on close-range photogrammetry. To overcome the disadvantages of low precision under a large field of view in close-range photogrammetry, a refinement coordinates mapping (RCM) method to achieve high-precision reconstruction of targets is developed. The principles of single-camera calibration, close-range photogrammetry, and the extrinsic calibration method are introduced, respectively. Experiments are performed to analyze the stability of single-camera calibration and the world coordinates reconstruction of targets. The results of the re-projection error in extrinsic parameters calibration show that the developed RCM method has high precision.