Camera calibration using the dual double-contact property of circles

To mitigate the influence of the relative positional relationship between circles on camera calibration, this study explores the double contact of dual circles with dual circular points. We demonstrate that one of the generalized eigenvectors of two dual circles corresponds to the line passing through their respective centers. Moreover, we establish a methodology to identify this line from the three generalized eigenvectors and show that, regardless of the positional arrangement of the three co-planar circles, the image of the circular points can be constructed by calculating the image of this line. Consequently, the applicability of circles as calibration templates is expanded, enabling the development of a novel optimization technique for fitting circular images with enhanced calibration precision. © 2023 Optica Publishing Group.