Auto-Calibration and 3D Reconstruction with Non-Central Catadioptric Sensors using Polarization Imaging

Non-central catadioptric sensors became a mandatory effective tool in a broad range of applications and hence robust modeling and calibration for such sensors are required. One simple and efficient method is to model the catadioptric sensor by its catacaustics. Calibrating the sensor is equivalent to computing its catacaustics which fully geometrically describe the sensor. In this work, we calibrate non-central catadioptric sensors by computing their catacaustics using polarization imaging. We provide stable and accurate results by applying our novel practical method to extract required parameters. We have applied our method on a parabolic, a hyperbolic, and two spherical reflectors. In order to evaluate the calibration quality, 3D reconstructions for multiple real world points were simulated assuming to have configurations with a perspective lens or a telecentric lens. 3D reconstruction simulation from caustics using polarization for various configurations of catadioptric sensors is firstly presented in this work.