Automatic Camera Model Selection for Multibody Motion Segmentation

We study the problem of segmenting independently moving objects in a video sequence. Several algorithms exist for classifying the trajectories of the feature points into independent motions, but the performance depends on the validity of the underlying camera imaging model. In this paper, we present a scheme for automatically selecting the best model using the geometric AIC before the segmentation stage, Using real video sequences, we confirm that the segmentation accuracy indeed improves if the segmentation is based on the selected model. We also show that the trajectory data can be compressed into low-dimensional vectors using the selected model. This is very effective in reducing the computation time for a long video sequence

Bundle Adjustment for 3-D Reconstruction: Implementation and Evaluation

We describe in detail the algorithm of bundle adjustment for 3-D reconstruction from multiple images based on our latest research results. The main focus of this paper is on the handling of camera rotations and the efficiency of computation and memory usage when the number of variables is very large; an appropriate consideration of this is the core of the implementation of bundle adjustment. Computing the fundamental matrix from two views and reconstructing the 3-D structure from multiple views, we evaluate the performance of our algorithm and discuses technical issues of bundle adjustment implementation

Improved Multistage Learning for Multibody Motion Segmentation

We present an improved version of the MSL method of Sugaya and Kanatani for multibody motion segmentation. We replace their initial segmentation based on heuristic clustering by an analytical computation based on GPCA, fitting two 2-D affine spaces in 3-D by the Taubin method. This initial segmentation alone can segment most of the motions in natural scenes fairly correctly, and the result is successively optimized by the EM algorithm in 3-D, 5-D, and 7-D. Using simulated and real videos, we demonstrate that our method outperforms the previous MSL and other existing methods. We also illustrate its mechanism by our visualization technique

Fundamental Matrix Computation: Theory and Practice

We classify and review existing algorithms for computing the fundamental matrix from point correspondences and propose new effective schemes: 7-parameter Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) search, EFNS, and EFNS-based bundle adjustment. Doing experimental comparison, we show that EFNS and the 7-parameter LM search exhibit the best performance and that additional bundle adjustment does not increase the accuracy to any noticeable degree

Factorization without Factorization: Complete Recipe

The Tomasi-Kanade factorization for reconstructing the 3-D shape of the feature points tracked through a video stream is widely regarded as based on factorization of a matrix by SVD (singular value decomposition). This paper points out that the core principle is the affine camera approximation to the imaging geometry and that SVD is merely one means of numerical computation. We first describe the geometric structure of the problem and then give a complete programming scheme for 3-D reconstruction

Experimental Evaluation of Geometric Fitting Algorithms

The convergence performance of typical numerical schemes for geometric fitting for computer vision applications is compared. First, the problem and the associated KCR lower bound are stated. Then, three well known fitting algorithms are described: FNS, HEIV, and renormalization. To these, we add a special variant of Gauss-Newton iterations. For initialization of iterations, random choice, least squares, and Taubin’s method are tested. Numerical simulations and real image experiments and conducted for fundamental matrix computation and ellipse fitting, which reveals different characteristics of each method

Extracting Moving Objects from a Moving Camera VideoSequence

We present a new method for extracting objects moving independently of the background from a video sequence taken by a moving camera. We first extract and track feature points through the sequence and select the trajectories of background points by exploiting geometric constraints based on the affine camera model. Then, we generate a panoramic image of the background and compare it with the individual frames. We describe our image processing and thresholding techniques

Unified Computation of Strict Maximum Likelihood for Geometric Fitting

A new numerical scheme is presented for computing strict maximum likelihood (ML) of geometric fitting problems having an implicit constraint. Our approach is orthogonal projection of observations onto a parameterized surface defined by the constraint. Assuming a linearly separable nonlinear constraint, we show that a theoretically global solution can be obtained by iterative Sampson error minimization. Our approach is illustrated by ellipse fitting and fundamental matrix computation. Our method also encompasses optimal correction, computing, e.g., perpendiculars to an ellipse and triangulating stereo images. A detailed discussion is given to technical and practical issues about our approach

Optimization without Search: Constraint Satisfaction by Orthogonal Projection with Applications to Multiview Triangulation

We present an alternative approach to what we call the “standard optimization”, which minimizes a cost function by searching a parameter space. Instead, the input is “orthogonally projected” in the joint input space onto the manifold defined by the “consistency constraint”, which demands that any minimal subset of observations produce the same result. This approach avoids many difficulties encountered in the standard optimization. As typical examples, we apply it to line fitting and multiview triangulation. The latter produces a new algorithm far more efficient than existing methods. We also discuss optimality of our approach