Comparison of the Depth Accuracy of a Plenoptic Camera and a Stereo Camera System in Spatially Tracking Single Refuse-derived Fuel Particles in a Drop Shaft

With the development of depth cameras in the last decades, several cameras are able to acquire 3D information of the captured scenes, such as plenoptic camera and stereo camera system. Because of the differences in principle and construction of various depth cameras, different cameras own particular advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, a comprehensive and detailed comparison of different cameras is essential to select the right camera for the application. Our research compared the depth accuracy and stability of a stereo camera system and a plenoptic camera by monitoring the settling processes of various refuse-derived fuel particles in a drop shaft. The particles are detected at first using detection approaches, and the particle detections are subsequently associated in accordance with data association algorithms. The spatial particle trajectories are obtained by the tracking-by-detection approach, based on which the performances of the cameras are evaluated.