Comparative Evaluation of Intel RealSense D415, D435i, D455, and Microsoft Azure Kinect DK Sensors for 3D Vision Applications

RGB-D cameras have been widely used in various research fields and applications in recent years. With the growing availability of commercial products, choosing the most suitable sensor for a specific application has become more complex. The lack of tools to evaluate and compare the metrological performance of these sensors was addressed by the recent ISO 10360-13:2021 standard, which defines the standards for the metrological characterization of 3D optical coordinate measuring systems. This paper applies the ISO 10360–13 methodology to characterize and compare four RGB-D cameras: three Intel® RealSense™ (D415, D435i, D455) and one Microsoft® Azure Kinect DK. The procedures described in the standard were integrated with three tests: the analysis of systematic errors measured acquiring a planar surface at increasing distances; a test to analyze the resolution performances with a specifically devised artifact; the evaluation of 3D reconstruction performances on two objects with different geometric characteristics. The results highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each device. The D415 showed better performance in reconstructions from close-range acquisitions. The Azure Kinect DK had the best results for systematic error and resolution. The D455 generally achieved the best performance in the standard tests, followed by the D435i.