MODELING DEPTH UNCERTAINTY OF DESYNCHRONIZED MULTI-CAMERA SYSTEMS

Accurately recording motion from multiple perspectives is relevant for recording and processing immersive multi-media and virtual reality content. However, synchronization errors between multiple cameras limit the precision of scene depth reconstruction and rendering. In order to quantify this limit, a relation between camera de-synchronization, camera parameters, and scene element motion has to be identified. In this paper, a parametric ray model describing depth uncertainty is derived and adapted for the pinhole camera model. A two-camera scenario is simulated to investigate the model behavior and how camera synchronization delay, scene element speed, and camera positions affect the system's depth uncertainty. Results reveal a linear relation between synchronization error, element speed, and depth uncertainty. View convergence is shown to affect mean depth uncertainty up to a factor of 10. Results also show that depth uncertainty must be assessed on the full set of camera rays instead of a central subset.