SURFACE GENERATION METHOD FROM BOUNDARIES OF STEREO IMAGES

An image processing method for matching edges detected in images of the same objects in a three-dimensional scene which are taken simultaneously by two or more image pick-up devices at different positions, in which the boundary segments on the edges are classified into apparently real segments, apparently imaginary segments or undefined segments, a planar surface is found for each boundary which has all apparently real segments and no apparently imaginary segment on it by using the information of the points of occlusion, the surface is regarded as the real surface in the case where there is only one surface which has no segment under it, so that surface information and the distance information at arbitrary points on the real surface are obtained.