Estimating axial resolution with diffraction theory

Depth estimation is a classic machine vision and image processing problem aiming at mapping the distances of objects from the camera. The accuracy of this depth map depends on the axial resolution achieved by the system, which is usually estimated using geometrical optics theory. This paper proposes a novel formula using diffraction theory. A comparison with the geometrical approach for estimating the axial resolution is provided, and results for several simulations are discussed. (C) 2018 Optical Society of America