Complete Singularity Analysis for the Perspective-Four-Point Problem

This paper is concerned with pose estimation and visual servoing from four points. We determine the configurations for which the corresponding Jacobian matrix becomes singular, leading to inaccurate and unstable results. Using an adequate representation and algebraic geometry, it is shown that, for any orientation between the camera and the object, there are always two to six singular locations of the camera in the generic case where the points are not coplanar, corresponding to the intersection of four cylinders. The particular case where the four points are coplanar is also characterized. Furthermore, some realistic example configurations are considered to substantiate the theory and to demonstrate failure cases in pose estimation and image-based visual servoing when the camera approaches a singularity.