Fusing and guiding range measurements with colour video images

Combining data from different sensors provides richer data for visualisation and helps in automatic detection and recognition of objects. This paper presents two methods relating two dimensional images from colour CCD cameras with three dimensional data from range scanners. The first method is applicable in a static case and provides the geometrically correct solution. The second one offers an approximate solution but can be used in a dynamic environment for guiding selective range measurements and simplifies the calibration process. The error introduced by this approximation has been derived as a function of the distance to the object and geometry of the set-up. Results of combining range information from a laser camera and colour camera are presented.