Stereo vision

Stereo vision estimates three-dimensional structure from images taken at different viewpoints. After camera calibration and alignment into a common image geometry, a point's horizontal displacement between the two views is its stereo disparity $d$. For parallel ideal cameras with camera baseline $B$ and focal length $f$ in pixel units, similar triangles giveFor $f=800$ pixels, $B=0.10\mathrm{m}$ and $d=40$ pixels, the inferred depth is $2\mathrm{m}$. Doubling the depth halves the stereo disparity, making distant structure harder to measure accurately.^[ref]

A practical apparatus uses two rigidly mounted cameras, a calibration target and synchronized exposures. Matching the same physical feature is essential: repeated textures, hidden surfaces and motion can give false correspondences. The measurement is therefore geometric inference from matched observations, not an intrinsic depth label stored in each pixel.^[ref]