Disparity estimation by patch matching

In this paper, a stripe-mesh type image representation scheme and a disparity estimation algorithm based on the stripe-mesh structure are proposed. The mesh structure consists of stripes that are composed of triangular patches, and lay along the epipolar direction. The borders of the patches coincide with the depth discontinuities on the image plane. Thus, inside each patch the depth of the physical scene can be approximated by planar surfaces such that each surface is modeled by the disparity values of the patch corners. The stereo matching algorithm acquires the structure of the scene by estimating the disparities within the mesh patches, using a modified exhaustive search algorithm.