Method and appartus for stereoscopic focus control of stereo camera

A method of controlling a camera, comprising:

• receiving sets of images generated by the camera with corresponding focal setting values, each set of images including a first image and a second image, and each focal setting value including a value for controlling focus of the camera when the corresponding image is taken;
• establishing a mapping relation that associates a disparity value with at least one focal setting value that are paired based on analyzing disparity values of the sets of images and the corresponding focal setting values;
• and
• controlling the focus of the camera according to the established mapping relation.

A control apparatus for controlling focus for a plurality of sensors, the control apparatus comprising:

• processing circuitry configured to:
• receive sets of images generated by the plurality of sensors with corresponding sets of focal setting values, each set of images including a first image taken by a first sensor and a second image taken by a second sensor, and each set of focal setting values including a first focal setting value for controlling the focus for the first sensor when a corresponding first image is taken and a second focal setting value for controlling the focus for the second sensor when a corresponding second image is taken;
• establish a mapping relation that associates a disparity value with a set of focal setting values that are paired based on analyzing disparity values of the sets of images and the corresponding sets of focal setting values;
• and
• control the focus for the plurality of sensors according to the established mapping relation.

A method of controlling focus for a plurality of sensors, comprising:

• receiving sets of images generated by the plurality of sensors with corresponding sets of focal setting values, each set of images including a first image taken by a first sensor and a second image taken by a second sensor, and each set of focal setting values including a first focal setting value for controlling the focus for the first sensor when a corresponding first image is taken and a second focal setting value for controlling the focus for the second sensor when a corresponding second image is taken;
• establishing a mapping relation that associates a disparity value with a set of focal setting values that are paired based on analyzing disparity values of the sets of images and the corresponding sets of focal setting values;
• and
• controlling the focus for the plurality of sensors according to the established mapping relation.