A method for calibrating see-through head-mounted displays for AR

Abstract

In order to have a working augmented reality (AR) system, the see-through system must be calibrated such that the internal models of objects match their physical counterparts. By match, we mean they should have the same position, orientation, and size information as well as any intrinsic parameters (such as focal lengths in the case of cameras) that their physical counterparts have. To this end, a procedure must be developed which estimates the parameters of these internal models. This calibration method must be both accurate and simple to use. This paper reports on our efforts to implement a calibration method for a see-through head-mounted display. We use a dynamic system in which a user interactively modifies the camera parameters until the image of a calibration object matches the image of a corresponding physical object. The calibration method is dynamic in the sense that we do not require the user's head to be immobilized.