Comparison of bundle adjustment software for camera calibration in close range photogrammetry

Abstract

Camera calibration has always been an essential component of photogrammetric measurement. Nowadays, with self-calibration being an integral and routinely applied operation within photogrammetric triangulation, especially in high-accuracy close-range measurement. Photogrammetric camera calibration is usually carried out together with the calculation of object coordinates such as principal distance; principal point and lens distortion are usually determined by a self-calibrating bundle adjustment approach. There is a variety of bundle adjustment software for camera calibration that is available in the market nowadays. Basically, each of the software has their own capabilities to calibrate the camera. The user has to select appropriate and correct software to suite their needs. This paper discusses about the investigation and assessment of several bundle adjustment software used to calibrate digital camera. In this study, a test field was designed and fabricated. Then the digital camera is calibrated by using bundle adjustment software. Normally the camera calibration parameters comprise of the unknown parameters of the interior and exterior orientation and the 3D object coordinates. The quality of the result depends on many factors; however, the network configuration is among the most vital factor. After motion the differences of camera parameters determined by self-calibration bundle adjustment software are reported in this paper. In this study the result showed that the flexible and powerful tool for camera calibration using bundle block adjustment method is the Australis software.