Wide-angle vision sensor with high-distortion lens (Detection of camera location and gaze direction based on the two-parallel-line algorithm)

The authors have conducted research into a vision sensor system which is functionally similar to the human eye. We have designed and manufactured a special lens to realize this function. The lens system provides an extensive 120-degree visual field, by optically enlarging an input image in the central area and compressing it in the peripheral area. In this paper, the authors propose a new method to detect a camera location and gaze direction based on two parallel boundary lines of a road projected in the peripheral area, and show that it works precisely and efficiently. Subsequently, we apply this method to a curved road and compare the location detected from the boundary lines with the actual camera location, and show that there is reasonable agreement between the detected and actual values.