APPLICATION OF THE LONGITUDINAL CHROMATIC ABERRATION EFFECT FOR DISTANCES MEASUREMENT ON THE BASIS OF A SINGLE PHOTO

Subject of Research. We propose a method for measuring the distances to the surfaces of photographed objects based on the effect of longitudinal chromatic aberration. According to this effect, the focal length of lens depends on the wavelength of refracted light, thus the defocus of image formed by lens depends not only on the distance from image plane to lens, but also on the wavelength of light the picture was taken for (red, green or blue color ranges). Method. The proposed method of distance measurement is based on comparison of image defocus for different wavelengths (e.g., red and blue). The comparison is performed in the spatial frequency domain and is based on analysis of image complex spectrograms (the Fourier spectrum calculated locally within a window scanning the image).The distance to each point of photographed surface is calculated in closed form by the analysis of local spatial spectrum with the use of Gaussian model of point spread function. Main Results. The working capacity of distance measurement technique is partially verified on the basis of image defocus imitation by different displacement of objective lens with respect to sensor matrix of camera. The presented analysis of chromatic parameters of traditionally applied optical materials also proves the physical realizability of proposed technique. A technology is also proposed for distance measuring based on really differing image defocus in different color channels applying a special calibration of electro-optical system. Practical Relevance. The proposed distance measurement technique could be practically useful in the cases where any active illumination of objects being photographed is prohibited. It is also worth to be applied in the inexpensive low-sized optical measuring devices like Kinect for Xbox-360.

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