Reading some papers about visual odometry, many use inverse depth. Is it only the mathematical inverse of the depth (meaning 1/d) or does it represent something else. And what are the advantages of using it?
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What is inverse depth (in odometry) and why would I use it?
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Features like the sun and clouds and other things that are very far off would have a distance estimate of inf. This can cause a lot of problems. To get around it, the inverse of the distance is estimated. All of the infs become zeros which tend to cause fewer problems.
answered Jan 12 '15 at 3:38
holmeski
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Davison's paper introducing the method is easy enough to understand:
Inverse Depth Parametrization for Monocular SLAM by Javier Civera, Andrew J. Davison, and J. M. Martınez Montiel DOI: 10.1109/TRO.2008.2003276
answered Nov 3 '15 at 21:49
freakpatrol
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What is inverse depth (in odometry) and why would I use it?
up vote
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Reading some papers about visual odometry, many use inverse depth. Is it only the mathematical inverse of the depth (meaning 1/d) or does it represent something else. And what are the advantages of using it?
asked Jan 12 '15 at 2:54
Mehdi
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6214 silver badges12 bronze badges
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Features like the sun and clouds and other things that are very far off would have a distance estimate of inf. This can cause a lot of problems. To get around it, the inverse of the distance is estimated. All of the infs become zeros which tend to cause fewer problems.
answered Jan 12 '15 at 3:38
holmeski
1,76510 silver badges18 bronze badges
1,76510 silver badges18 bronze badges
donot quite understand, if I'm using a kinect device, the output values for invalid area are internally set to 0, either because of too near or too far or reflection or disparity. Does that have sth. to do with inverse depth? - zhangxaochen May 17 '16 at 13:54
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