Methods and systems of generating camera models for camera calibration

A system for generating a camera model, the system comprising:

• (a) a calibration assembly comprising:
• a calibration target;
• and
• first, second, and third calibration assembly markers coupled to the calibration target at respective positions;
• (b) a camera assembly comprising:
• a mount;
• a camera coupled to the mount at a respective location and having a field of view (FOV);
• and
• first, second, and third camera assembly markers coupled to the mount at respective positions;
• (c) a robotic assembly coupled to at least one of the calibration assembly and the camera assembly;
• (d) a tracker;
• and
• (e) a computer system coupled to the camera, the robotic assembly, and the tracker, the computer system comprising at least one processor and at least one non-volatile computer-readable medium,
• the at least one non-volatile computer-readable medium storing coordinates of the first, second, and third calibration assembly markers relative to one another and relative to the calibration target;
• the at least one non-volatile computer-readable medium storing coordinates of the first, second, and third camera assembly markers relative to one another and relative to the camera;
• the at least one non-volatile computer-readable medium further storing instructions for causing the processor to perform operations comprising:
• instructing the robotic assembly to move the calibration assembly relative to the camera assembly, or to move the camera assembly relative to the calibration assembly, through a predetermined series of poses that, together, cause the calibration target to pass through at least a portion of the FOV of the camera;
• instructing the camera, at each pose of the predetermined series of poses, to generate a respective image of the calibration target;
• instructing the tracker, at each pose of the predetermined series of poses, to determine respective locations in space of the first, second, and third calibration assembly markers and respective locations in space of the first, second, and third camera assembly markers;
• for each respective image, generating a transformation function that maps onto a three-dimensional object space (i) the stored coordinates of the first, second, and third calibration assembly markers, (ii) the stored coordinates of the first, second, and third camera assembly markers, (iii) the determined respective locations in space, for that image, of the first, second, and third calibration assembly markers, (iv) the determined respective locations in space, for that image, of the first, second, and third camera assembly markers, and (v) features of the calibration target within the respective image;
• and
• using the transformation functions for the respective images to generate a model of extrinsic parameters and intrinsic parameters of the camera.