Active calibration of cameras: theory and implementation

The problem of calibrating a camera has been widely addressed in the past. Almost all techniques described in the literature use a known calibrating pattern and a static camera. We introduce a novel technique, based on an active camera, which does not need any predefined patterns. All that is required is a scene with some strong and stable edges. Two alternative algorithms are presented and analysed-the second method is shown to be more robust to noise and useful in practical situations. Using our methods, an active camera can automatically calibrate itself. Experimental results are shown, demonstrating the validity of the algorithms