a selected threshold. The feature detection results for
both approaches are shown in Fig.2.
For the task of edge detection based on phase
congruency concepts, log-Gabor functions was used,
with Gaussian transfer functions on a logarithmic fre-
quency scale. This filter was applied in six orienta-
tions and at four scales, with a constant one octave
bandwidth, according to Equations (7), (2), and fol-
lowing analysis presented in (Field, 1987). By ob-
serving the first row in Fig. 2 one can conclude that
the application of traditional techniques, like Canny
filtering, for such a complicated scene results in poor
localization of the detected edges, as compared to the
results obtained by applying phase congruency meth-
ods shown in the third row of Fig. 2. The second row
in Fig. 2 shows the detected canditate SIFT keypoints
at a specific level of the constructed scale space pyra-
mid. In this case, it is evident that the use of differ-
ence of Gaussian operator, which is based on gradient
measurements, emphasizes edge features, even those
features with low contrast. This kind of low contrast
features will be excluded from SIFT features as being
non distinctive. The apparent complexity of the scene
resulted in a large number of these features, therefore,
the matching process will be based on less candidate
points.
The next stage in depth estimation is the process
of matching corresponding points between successive
images, which is known as an ill-conditioned prob-
lems in low-level vision. The quality of the solution
of the matching problem has a direct impact on the
quality of the scene reconstruction. The matching
process was again performed based on three meth-
ods, in comparison: (a) The first approach used Canny
filtering for feature detection and a typical intensity-
based correlation method for the matching process.
(b) The second approach consisted of SIFT keypoints
detection, based on image gradient amplitude and ori-
entation measurements, the construction of invariant
keypoint descriptors for each image of the stereo pair
and, finally, the matching process which was based on
these descriptors correspondence, through Euclidean
distance measurements. (c) Finally, the third ap-
proach followed in this paper was based on the appli-
cation of monogenic filters, as has been described in
section 2.2. The specific and unique direction of cam-
era motion indicated the direction on which the candi-
dates for feature matching were moved on the image
plane. The process of rectification also locates corre-
sponding points on the same line. Based on these re-
marks the search area for image correspondences was
radically reduced, resulting effectively in the calcula-
tion of much more reliable matching points.
During our experiments, we observed that the
matching of sporadic points created many prob-
lems, especially when an intensity-based correlation
method was applied. This occurs because the photos
were outdoor, very complicated and had been taken
under random lighting and illumination conditions.
This means that the intensity values of specific points
include a lot of uncertainty. Variations in shading (in
one or more photos), repeated patterns on the images
and a uniform texture, all result in very close inten-
sity values for certain pixel neighborhoods, leading
to a large number of candidate points for matching.
The first attempt to overcome the uncertainty prob-
lems was based on the use of a correlation measure
for whole geometric primitives like lines, excluding
from the correlation process sporadic points.
The prior knowledge of the camera motion was
used in order to look for probable corresponding lines
in the opposite direction of which the camera was
moving. The search area was basically restricted on
a horizontal axis on the image, due to the known
horizontal motion of the camera. The search win-
dow was chosen to have its (horizontal dimension)
width almost equal to the half of the image width,
and its height (vertical dimension) equal to a few pix-
els. However, line characteristics like length and di-
rection may present considerable deviation between
corresponding images. It is, for instance, possible
for a detected line on one image to break into two or
more parts on the other image. Therefore, we decided,
instead, to use point correlation techniques on these
candidate lines. Such an approach improved indeed
the obtained results. The confirmation of the match-
ing validity in the neighborhood of each point, was
achieved by the implementation of classic relaxation
methods, as in (Faugeras, 1993).
3.2 3D Reconstruction Results
Our main goal in this study was to evaluate the perfor-
mance of the phase domain methods, in comparison
to the classical (intensity based) filtering techniques
and the SIFT local keypoint descriptors in a stereo
matching and 3D calibrated reconstruction problem.
The feature matching process led to the acquisition of
matching pairs in the two images. Hence, the estima-
tion of the fundamental matrix becomes feasible. The
calibration matrix was recovered by implementing the
Zhang’s method as briefly described in Section 2.3.
Consequently, the projection matrices of the camera
were computed in both configurations through the es-
sential matrix according to the known relation intro-
duced by Hartley and Zisserman (Hartley and Zis-
serman, 2000). The metric information of the scene
was recovered using the camera calibration matrix.
STEREO PAIR MATCHING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCENES USING PHASE DOMAIN METHODS
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