JP2008008687A - Distance measuring system and distance measuring method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distance measuring system which forms a reliable distance image in a short period of time, and also to provide a distance measuring method. <P>SOLUTION: The distance measuring system comprises: a parallax measurement type distance measuring apparatus 1 which forms a distance image from an acquired parallax image; and a phase-TOF type distance measuring apparatus 2 which accumulates photoelectrons converted from intensity-modulated incident light in different accumulating means while temporally shifting them, and creates distance information in accordance with the number of the photoelectrons accumulated in the accumulating means. The parallax measurement type distance measuring apparatus 1 computes the distance image by using the distance information as an initial value which is obtained by the phase-TOF type distance measuring apparatus 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a distance measurement system and a distance measurement method, and more particularly to a distance measurement system and a distance measurement method using a plurality of types of distance measurement techniques.

  Various methods have been proposed for distance measurement systems that measure the distance to an object. For example, typical methods include a parallax measurement method, a phase TOF (Time Of Flight) method, and a pulse TOF method.

  Among these, the parallax measurement method is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In the parallax measurement method, a stereoscopic image is synthesized based on parallax images taken by a plurality of cameras arranged at two or more different viewpoints. This parallax measurement method is also described as a passive method in Patent Document 2.

  The phase TOF method is disclosed in Patent Document 3, for example. In the phase TOF method, an intensity-modulated measurement light beam is irradiated onto a measurement object, reflected light from the object is detected, photoelectron conversion is performed, and the converted photoelectron is temporally transmitted to one of a plurality of storage means. It is trying to accumulate by shifting. According to this method, the farther the measurement target is, the more photoelectrons are stored in the storage means that is stored at a later timing in time among the plurality of storage means. That is, the relative ratio or difference of the number of photoelectrons stored in each of the plurality of storage units is determined according to the distance to the measurement target. The distance to the measurement object can be obtained by obtaining this ratio or difference.

The pulse TOF method is disclosed in Patent Document 2 as an active method, for example. The pulse TOF method is a method for irradiating a measurement object with a pulsed measurement light beam and obtaining a distance from the phase difference between the reflected light from the measurement object and the measurement light beam, and scanning the measurement light beam two-dimensionally. Then, the distance is measured at each point to measure the three-dimensional shape.
JP 2001-256482 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-5050 JP 2003-51988 A

  In the parallax measurement method, it is necessary to collate feature points between two or more images in order to obtain distance information. In general, feature point matching has to be performed over the entire image, which causes a problem that the amount of calculation is enormous and the calculation time is prolonged. Therefore, in the parallax measurement method, it is difficult to calculate in real time, and for example, it is difficult to mount on a moving body such as a robot or a vehicle.

  The phase TOF method irradiates the light with the intensity modulated at a constant period. However, when the distance to the object is longer than this wavelength, the distance calculation result is not uniquely determined in principle. In addition, when the image sensor has a mechanism for calculating the phase of light, the structure of the image sensor is complicated and it is difficult to sufficiently increase the resolution.

  In the pulse TOF method, in order to obtain a distance image by scanning a measurement beam in two dimensions, it is necessary to physically scan a laser beam or the like that emits the measurement beam vertically and horizontally using a oscillating mirror or a polygon mirror. There has been a problem that the acquisition time of the distance image becomes long.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a distance measuring system and a distance measuring method capable of generating a distance image with high reliability in a short time.

  The distance measuring system according to the present invention stores a first distance measuring unit that generates a distance image based on an acquired parallax image and photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different storage units while being shifted in time. And a distance measuring system including second distance measuring means for generating distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage means, wherein the first distance measuring means includes the second distance measuring means. A distance image is calculated using distance information acquired by the distance measuring means as an initial value. With such a configuration, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  Here, it is preferable that the second distance measuring unit selects arbitrary distance information from a plurality of candidate distance information according to the distance image calculated by the first distance measuring unit. Since there is no need to limit the measurement distance in the second distance measuring means, the measurement distance can be increased.

  Further, the apparatus further comprises third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object, and the third distance measurement means is provided by the second distance measurement means. Preferably, the scanning range is limited based on the selected distance information, and the limited scanning range is scanned to generate a distance image. With such a configuration, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  A distance measurement system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first distance measuring unit that generates a distance image based on an acquired parallax image, and a distance based on a phase difference between an emitted measurement light beam and a reflected light beam of an object. A distance measuring system including a third distance measuring means for generating an image, wherein the third distance measuring means limits a scanning range based on the distance image generated by the first distance measuring means. Thus, the range image is generated by scanning the limited scanning range. With such a configuration, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  A distance measuring system according to another aspect of the present invention accumulates photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different accumulating means by shifting in time, and distances according to the number of photoelectrons accumulated in these accumulating means. A distance measuring system comprising: a second distance measuring means for generating information; and a third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object, The third distance measuring means limits the scanning range based on the distance information selected by the second distance measuring means, and scans the limited scanning range to generate a distance image. With such a configuration, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  A distance measuring system according to another aspect of the present invention accumulates photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different accumulating means by shifting in time, and distances according to the number of photoelectrons accumulated in these accumulating means. A distance measuring system comprising: a second distance measuring means for generating information; and a third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on a phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and a reflected light beam of the object, The second distance measuring means selects arbitrary distance information from the plurality of candidate distance information according to the distance image calculated by the third distance measuring means. Since there is no need to limit the measurement distance in the second distance measuring means, the measurement distance can be increased.

  The distance measuring system according to another aspect of the present invention is different from the first distance measuring unit that generates a distance image based on the acquired parallax image, by shifting the photoelectrons converted from the incident intensity-modulated light in terms of time. A distance measuring system comprising: a second distance measuring unit that stores distance information in accordance with the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit; and the second distance measuring unit includes: Arbitrary distance information is selected from a plurality of candidate distance information in accordance with the distance image calculated by the first distance measuring means. Since there is no need to limit the measurement distance in the second distance measuring means, the measurement distance can be increased.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that a unit for generating an integrated distance image by combining the distance image generated by the first distance measuring unit and the distance information generated by the second distance measuring unit is desirable.

  Further, any two or more of the distance image generated by the first distance measuring means, the distance information generated by the second distance measuring means, and the distance image generated by the third distance measuring means. It is preferable to further comprise means for generating an integrated distance image by synthesizing.

  In the distance measuring method according to the present invention, photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light are accumulated in different accumulating means while being shifted in time, and distance information is generated according to the number of photoelectrons accumulated in these accumulating means. And a step of generating a distance image based on the parallax image, using the generated distance information as an initial value. By such a method, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  A distance measuring method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a step of limiting a scanning range based on the distance information, and a distance in a scanning range limited based on a phase difference between an emitted measurement light beam and a reflected light beam of an object. The method further includes the step of generating an image. By such a method, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  A distance measurement method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a step of generating a distance image based on an acquired parallax image, a step of limiting a scanning range based on the generated distance image, an emitted measurement light beam, and an object Generating a distance image in a limited scanning range based on the phase difference of the reflected rays of the object. By such a method, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a distance measuring method stores photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different storage means while shifting the time in accordance with the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means. A step of generating information, a step of limiting the scanning range based on the generated distance information, and a distance image in the limited scanning range based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object. Generating. By such a method, a highly reliable range image can be calculated in a short time.

  A distance measurement method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a step of generating a distance image based on a phase difference between an emitted measurement light beam and a reflected light beam of an object, and temporally converting photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light. And storing in different storage means, generating a plurality of distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means, and selecting any distance information from the plurality of distance information based on the distance image And a step of performing. Such a method eliminates the need to limit the measurement distance, so that the measurement distance can be increased.

  A distance measurement method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a step of generating a distance image based on an acquired parallax image, and storing photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different storage means while being shifted in time. The step of generating a plurality of distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means, and the arbitrary distance information from the plurality of distance information based on the distance image generated by acquiring the parallax image Selecting. Such a method eliminates the need to limit the measurement distance, so that the measurement distance can be increased.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a step of generating an integrated distance image by synthesizing the obtained distance image and / or distance information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a distance measuring system and a distance measuring method capable of generating a highly reliable distance image in a short time.

  The configuration of the distance measurement system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. The distance measurement system is configured by combining a parallax measurement method, a phase TOF method, and a pulse TOF method. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the imaging devices 11, 21, and 31 for realizing each method and the data processing device 4 are basically configured, but a parallax measurement type distance measuring device that realizes each method, and The phase TOF type distance measuring device and the pulse TOF type distance measuring device may be configured separately in a state where data can be exchanged. Note that the output device 5 is optional. This distance measurement system can be applied to various applications. For example, the distance measurement system is mounted on a moving body such as a robot or a vehicle, and is used for measuring a distance to an object in the vicinity.

  As shown in FIG. 1, parallax measurement type imaging devices 11R and 11L, a phase TOF type imaging device 21 and a pulse TOF type imaging device 31 are provided as imaging devices. The data processing unit 4 includes a parallax measurement type processing unit 41, a phase TOF type processing unit 42, a pulse TOF type processing unit 43, and a composite image generation unit 44. The output device 5 is, for example, a display.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the parallax measuring distance measuring device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 includes parallax measurement type imaging devices 11 </ b> R and 11 </ b> L and a parallax measurement type processing unit 41. The parallax measurement type imaging devices 11R and 11L are each configured by a CCD image sensor (CCD camera), a camera interface circuit, an image memory, and an arithmetic processing circuit. It is also possible to use a CMOS image sensor instead of the CCD image sensor. The parallax measurement type imaging devices 11R and 11L capture the same object from different viewpoints and output the captured image information to the parallax measurement type processing unit 41. The parallax measurement type processing unit 41 inputs photographed image information and executes data processing described in detail later.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2. The phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 can obtain the distance to the object in pixel units, and the distance measurement accuracy is about ± 10%. In the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2, the same result is obtained according to the period of the intensity-modulated light. Therefore, in principle, a plurality of distance candidates are generated, and it is difficult to select from the candidates. For example, when the intensity-modulated light of 20 MHz is used, the same result is obtained with a period of 7.5 m. Therefore, for example, it is not possible to discriminate between 0.5 m and 8 m. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to select an arbitrary candidate from a plurality of candidates, the measurement results of the other parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 and the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 2 are used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 basically includes a modulated wave light source 211 and a solid-state imaging device 212. The modulated wave light source 211 is a light source that emits light whose intensity is modulated at a constant period, and is, for example, an AM (Amplitude Modulation) modulated light source using a laser or a light emitting diode. The modulated light is, for example, a 20 MHz sine wave. The solid-state imaging device 212 detects reflected light from the object, performs photoelectron conversion, accumulates the converted photoelectrons in a time-shifted manner in any of a plurality of storage means, and according to the number of accumulated photoelectrons And has a function of generating distance information.

FIG. 4A shows a basic configuration of the solid-state image sensor 212. FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram in which a part of the view taken along the arrow A in FIG. As shown in the figure, in the solid-state imaging device 212, a photodiode 215 is embedded in the upper surface 214a of the main body 214. Two storage portions 216 a and 216 b are formed on both sides of the photodiode 215. Furthermore, electrodes 217a and 217b are formed on the storage portions 216a and 216b. The storage units 216a and 216b are connected to a read circuit (not shown). Further, the solid-state imaging device 212 includes a switching circuit 213 as a photoelectron accumulation control unit that performs a process of switching which of the storage units 216a and 216b moves the photoelectrons to.
4 shows one pixel composed of the photodiode 215, the two storage units 216a and 216b, and the switching circuit 213, the solid-state imaging device 212 has a large number of pixels arranged in a two-dimensional array.
The photodiode 215 functions as a light receiving unit that receives light incident on the solid-state image sensor 212. The photodiode 215 receives the intensity-modulated light, and generates photoelectrons by photoelectrically converting the photons of the incident intensity-modulated light.

  Each of the storage units 216a and 216b stores the photoelectrons generated in the photodiode 215.

  Impurity-doped potential barriers 218a and 218b are provided between the storage portion 216a and the photodiode 215 and between the storage portion 216b and the photodiode 215 in order to prevent backflow to the photodiode 215.

  The electrodes 217a and 217b are electrodes for potential operation, and the voltage applied to the electrode 217a and the voltage applied to the electrode 217b are in opposite phases.

The readout circuit is a circuit that transfers the charge signal stored in the storage units 216a and 216b, and can be configured by, for example, a CMOS or a CCD.
The switching circuit 213 is a signal synchronized with the periodic signal of the intensity-modulated light incident on the photodiode 215, that is, one of the storage units 216a and 216b in which photoelectrons are accumulated in accordance with the detection signal synchronized with the modulation period of the intensity-modulated light. To control the switching.

  Next, the operation of the solid-state imaging device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows the potential around the pixel of the solid-state imaging device 212 when the electrode 217b is in a positive potential application state, and FIG. 5B shows the solid-state imaging device 212 when the electrode 217a is in a positive potential application state. The potential around the pixel is shown.

  The intensity-modulated light reflected from the object is incident on the solid-state image sensor 212. The photodiode 215 photoelectrically converts the incident intensity modulated light to generate photoelectrons. The photoelectrons generated by the photodiode 215 are moved to either the storage unit 216a or the storage unit 216b under the control of the switching circuit 213 according to the detection signal.

When the electrode 217a is in a positive potential application state, as shown in FIG. 5B, the photoelectrons generated by the photodiode 215 move to and accumulate in the accumulation unit 216a. When the electrode 217b is in a positive potential application state, as shown in FIG. 5A, the photoelectrons generated by the photodiode 215 move to and accumulate in the accumulation unit 216b. The ratio between the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216a and the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216b is determined according to the distance from the modulated wave light source 211 to the solid-state imaging device 212 through the object. For example, when the distance to the object is relatively short, the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216a is larger than the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216b. Conversely, when the distance to the object is relatively long, the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216a decreases and the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216b increases. That is, the distance to the object can be obtained based on the difference or ratio between the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216a and the number of photoelectrons stored in the storage unit 216b.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3. In general, the distance measurement accuracy of the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 is about ± 1%, which is higher than that of the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 includes a pulse TOF type imaging device 31 and a pulse TOF type processing unit 43. The pulse TOF type imaging device 31 includes a pulse light source 311, a scanning unit 312, and an imaging element 313. The pulsed light source 311 is a laser light source that emits a pulsed laser by predetermined control. The scanning means 312 is provided between the pulse light source 311 and is a means for two-dimensionally scanning a predetermined range including an object vertically and horizontally with a laser emitted from the pulse light source. , And means for driving them. The image sensor 313 is configured by a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. The pulse TOF type processing unit 43 inputs photographed image information and executes data processing that will be described in detail later.

  The pulsed measurement light beam emitted from the pulse light source 311 is reflected by the object and enters the image sensor 313. The image sensor 313 converts the pixel signal into an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light and outputs it. The pulse TOF processing unit 43 calculates a phase difference from the phase of the pulsed measurement light beam emitted from the pulse light source 311 and the phase of the reflected light beam incident on the image sensor 313, and converts the phase difference into distance information. . Such a process is performed by scanning the measurement light beam with the scanning unit 312 and executing it on all the pixels to obtain a distance image.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the distance measurement system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, a parallax image is acquired in the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 (S101). The acquired parallax image information is stored in an image memory (not shown).

  The distance image is also acquired in the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 (S201). The acquired distance image information is stored in an image memory (not shown). Next, the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 adds a return distance image (S202). Here, the aliasing distance image refers to a plurality of candidate distance images that are generated when the distance is most calculated by the phase TOF method. In this way, distance information B-1 and distance information B-2, which are a plurality of distance candidates, are obtained (S203, S204). The phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 inputs the shorter distance information B-1 of these distance information B-1 and distance information B-2 to the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 as an initial value.

  The parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 inputs the distance information B-1 and sets it as an initial value (S102). If the degree of the distance to the object is known, the range of parallax can be limited to some extent, so that the amount of calculation can be reduced. The parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 executes a feature point matching process (corresponding point search process) based on the set initial value (S103). Specifically, feature points indicating the same position of the object are extracted from images taken from different viewpoints, and a relative positional shift between the extracted feature points is detected. Then, the parallax measuring distance measuring device 1 calculates a distance image based on the result of the feature point matching process (S104). The parallax measurement distance measuring device 1 outputs the calculated distance image information to the phase TOF distance measuring device 2.

  The phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 acquires distance image information from the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1 and selects either the distance information B-1 or the distance information B-2 (S205). The phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 outputs the selected distance information to the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3.

  The pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 inputs distance information from the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 and sets a scanning range (S301). Specifically, the scanning range is not limited to the entire screen but limited to a part including the feature points. The pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 scans the set scanning range with a pulsed laser (S302). Then, the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 detects the reflected light of the scanned laser and acquires a distance image (S303).

  The parallax measurement distance measuring device 1 performs an image reliability addition process for each pixel on the distance image calculated in step S104 (S105), and outputs the processed distance image information to the composite image generation unit 44. To do.

  The phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 executes image reliability addition processing for each pixel on the distance information selected in step S205 (S206), and outputs the processed distance information to the composite image generation unit 44. .

  The pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 performs an image reliability addition process for each pixel on the distance image information acquired in step S303 (S304), and sends the processed distance image information to the composite image generation unit 44. Output.

  The composite image generation unit 44 converts the distance image information input from the parallax measurement distance measuring device 1, the distance information input from the phase TOF distance measuring device 2, and the distance image information input from the pulse TOF distance measuring device 3. Based on this, an integrated distance image synthesizing process is executed (S401). At this time, the composition processing is performed based on the reliability added for each pixel.

  As described above, in the distance measurement system according to the present invention, the distance information obtained in the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 is used as the initial value in the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1, so that the local solution is short. It can be obtained in time. Here, although the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 is inferior in distance measurement accuracy compared to the parallax measuring type distance measuring device 1, the distance measurement is sufficient to be used as an initial value of the parallax measuring type distance measuring device 1. Has accuracy.

  In the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1, it is difficult to extract parallax information between a plurality of images because it is difficult to extract feature points from an image having a small luminance difference. In the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 and the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3, the luminance difference does not cause a problem. Therefore, when calculating the distance in an image with a small luminance difference, first, the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 and the pulse. The distance to the object may be obtained by the TOF type distance measuring device 3, and the initial value may be set based on the result.

  The pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3 limits the scanning range based on the distance image generated by the parallax measurement type distance measuring device 1, and scans the limited scanning range to generate a distance image. May be.

  Further, the phase TOF type distance measuring device 2 may select arbitrary distance information from a plurality of candidate distance information according to the distance image calculated by the pulse TOF type distance measuring device 3.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole distance measurement system concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the parallax measuring type distance measuring device in the distance measuring system concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the phase TOF type | mold distance measuring apparatus in the distance measuring system concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows a partial structure of the phase TOF type distance measuring device in the distance measuring system concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the potential of the pixel periphery of the solid-state image sensor of the phase TOF type distance measuring device in the distance measuring system concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the pulse TOF type distance measuring device in the distance measuring system concerning this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the distance measurement system concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Parallax measuring type distance measuring device 2 Phase TOF type ranging device 3 Pulse TOF type ranging device 4 Data processing device 5 Output device 11 Parallax measuring type imaging device 21 Phase TOF type imaging device 31 Pulse TOF type imaging device 41 Parallax measuring type Processing unit 42 Phase TOF type processing unit 43 Pulse TOF type processing unit 44 Composite image generation unit

Claims (16)

First distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on the acquired parallax image;
Photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light are stored in different storage means while being shifted in time, and second distance measurement means for generating distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means is provided. A distance measuring system,
The first distance measuring unit calculates a distance image using distance information acquired by the second distance measuring unit as an initial value.   2. The second distance measuring unit selects arbitrary distance information from a plurality of candidate distance information according to the distance image calculated by the first distance measuring unit. Distance measuring system. A third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object;
The third distance measuring means limits the scanning range based on the distance information selected by the second distance measuring means, and scans the limited scanning range to generate a distance image. The distance measuring system according to claim 2. First distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on the acquired parallax image;
A distance measuring system comprising a third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on a phase difference between an emitted measuring light beam and a reflected light beam of an object;
The third distance measuring unit is a distance measuring system that limits a scanning range based on the distance image generated by the first distance measuring unit and scans the limited scanning range to generate a distance image. Second distance measuring means for storing photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different storage means by shifting in time and generating distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means;
A distance measurement system comprising a third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on a phase difference between an emitted measurement light beam and a reflected light beam of an object,
The third distance measuring unit is a distance measuring system that generates a distance image by scanning a limited scanning range based on the distance information selected by the second distance measuring unit. Second distance measuring means for storing photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light in different storage means by shifting in time and generating distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means;
A distance measurement system comprising a third distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on a phase difference between an emitted measurement light beam and a reflected light beam of an object,
2. The second distance measuring unit selects arbitrary distance information from a plurality of candidate distance information according to the distance image calculated by the third distance measuring unit. Distance measuring system. First distance measuring means for generating a distance image based on the acquired parallax image;
Photoelectrons converted from incident intensity-modulated light are stored in different storage means while being shifted in time, and second distance measurement means for generating distance information according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means is provided. A distance measuring system,
The second distance measuring unit is a distance measuring system that selects arbitrary distance information from a plurality of candidate distance information according to the distance image calculated by the first distance measuring unit.   The apparatus further comprises means for generating an integrated distance image by combining the distance image generated by the first distance measuring means and the distance information generated by the second distance measuring means. The distance measuring system according to claim 1, 2 or 7.   Combining any two or more of the distance image generated by the first distance measuring means, the distance information generated by the second distance measuring means, and the distance image generated by the third distance measuring means. The distance measuring system according to claim 3, further comprising means for generating an integrated distance image. The photoelectrons converted from the incident intensity-modulated light are shifted in time and stored in different storage means, and the distance information is generated according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means;
A distance measurement method comprising a step of generating a distance image based on a parallax image using the generated distance information as an initial value. Limiting a scanning range based on the distance information;
The distance measuring method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of generating a distance image in a limited scanning range based on a phase difference between the emitted measuring light beam and the reflected light beam of the object. Generating a distance image based on the acquired parallax image;
Limiting the scanning range based on the generated distance image;
And a step of generating a distance image in a limited scanning range based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object. The photoelectrons converted from the incident intensity-modulated light are shifted in time and stored in different storage means, and the distance information is generated according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means;
Limiting the scanning range based on the generated distance information;
And a step of generating a distance image in the limited scanning range based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object. Generating a distance image based on the phase difference between the emitted measurement light beam and the reflected light beam of the object;
The photoelectrons converted from the incident intensity-modulated light are shifted in time and stored in different storage means, and a plurality of distance information is generated according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means;
A step of selecting arbitrary distance information from a plurality of distance information based on the distance image. Generating a distance image based on the acquired parallax image;
The photoelectrons converted from the incident intensity-modulated light are shifted in time and stored in different storage means, and a plurality of distance information is generated according to the number of photoelectrons stored in these storage means;
And a step of selecting arbitrary distance information from a plurality of distance information based on a distance image generated by acquiring the parallax image.   16. The distance measuring method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of generating an integrated distance image by combining the obtained distance image and / or distance information.

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