= Camera baseline
{title2=$B$}
The <camera baseline> is the separation between the <camera centers> of two views. For centers $C_L,C_R$, its length is $B=\lVert C_R-C_L\rVert$. It measures translation, so turning a stationary <camera> without moving its <camera center> does not create a nonzero <camera baseline>. A known <camera baseline> supplies the length scale in <stereoscopic triangulation>.<What Is Stereo Reconstruction? by MathWorks>[opening baseline definition and How Does Stereo Reconstruction Work?]{ref}
In the ideal aligned model with matched coordinate origins, <stereo disparity> satisfies $d=fB/Z$. For <focal length> 800 <pixels> and depth 5 metres, a <camera baseline> 0.10 metres gives 16 <pixels>; doubling the <camera baseline> gives 32 <pixels>. With unchanged disparity precision, the larger separation improves depth sensitivity. It can also increase <occlusion in stereo vision> and reduce overlap of the views. Finally, multiplying both $B$ and all reconstructed lengths by the same factor leaves the projections unchanged: a small <reprojection error> alone cannot certify the metric scale.
Back to article page