3-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION BY ZOOMING

Using a zoom lens in monocular vision seems to be an interesting idea. The principal aim of this paper is to prove that it is possible to infer 3-D information from a set of images taken with a zoom lens. In the first part of the paper, a precise study of the optical properties of such a lens gives two major results: The intersection between the optical axis and the image plane can be independently and accurately determined, and the pin-hole model cannot be used directly for the approximation of such a complex lens system. To explain the optical phenomena occurring during a zoom-lens focal-length change, it is shown that a thick optical model must be considered. Finally, experimental results of reconstruction, from a set of real images, are given.