A Simple Algebraic Solution for Estimating the Pose of a Camera from Planar Point Features

Abstract

This paper presents a simple algebraic method to estimate the pose of a camera relative to a planar target from n ≥ 4 reference points with known coordinates in the target frame and their corresponding bearing measurements in the camera frame. The proposed approach follows a hierarchical structure; first, the unit vector normal to the target plane is determined, followed by the camera’s position vector, its distance to the target plane, and finally, the full orientation. To improve the method’s robustness to measurement noise, an averaging methodology is introduced to refine the estimation of the target’s normal direction. The accuracy and robustness of the approach are validated through extensive experiments.