JavaCV and OpenCV Camera Calibration with sample code

[jviolette123]

Suppose your camera was a somewhere in mid-field.

If the camera were looking directly at the backboard, that is, your rectangle is in the center of the field of view, then you would get a large reading for the pixel count, indicating you are close to the backboard.

If the camera were looking off to the side, then your rectangle is at the edge of the field of view. The rectangle would be smaller by up to 25% in pixel count than at the center. Any calculation based on that smaller number would say that you are farther than you really are.

The answer you get at the same distance depends on where the backboard is in the field of view. You can correct for that after the fact, or you can correct the image in the first place. We chose to correct the image.

[Greg McKaskle]

I understand what calibration is and the benefits, but I had assumed that it was rather expensive, and not all that necessary.

Do you expect the robot to shoot at targets near the edge of the camera?

Greg McKaskle

[jviolette123]

Depending on the robot's distance from the backboard, the rectangle moves up and down in the field of view. Also, depending on the tilt of the camera, the rectangle may be anywhere on a vertical line at the time of launch. We should be able to get the side to side alignment fairly close.

Some correction due to vertical placement seems to be required. Depending on the processing configuration, when this happens might change. If the cRio is doing the image work, it may be reasonable to do this correction after the fact. A coprocessor off the cRio may have enough cycles to correct up front, and simplify the geometric calculations.