Error model for scene reconstruction from motion and stereo

Scene reconstruction from motion and stereo are the two most popular methods for 3D range reconstruction. Because both techniques are affected by different types of errors, combining these two approaches to carry out 3D reconstruction seems natural. In this work, we present the initial results of our work towards the goal of analytically describing the performance of such a synergistic system. We consider the case in which points are viewed from two vantage points, and analytically model the uncertainty in the reconstruction of their 3D position. The uncertainty is expressed as a function of the points' location in the scene, as well as of the viewpoint change between the two images. The analysis is complemented by numerical results, which shed light on several interesting properties of the estimation accuracy.