Trellis-based systolic multi-layer stereo matching

Stereo vision is the process of recreating 3D spatial information from a pair of 2D images. We propose a multi-layer stereo vision algorithm and architecture which makes it possible to match two images in real time, without rectification of the image (rectification means making the scan line parallel to the epipolar line). To solve the epipolar problem, the self calibration method searches for a pixel within several lines of one image corresponding to a pixel on the scan line of the other image. We also propose a subpixel multi-layer system which considers subpixel data. It is useful for stereo matching of images with high frequency bandwidth characteristics. The total time complexity is O(N) so that real time processing is possible. The hardware architecture is a simple linear systolic array suitable for ASIC. The hardware design is verified by simulation, and it is confirmed that this system can process typical video image sequences in real time.