Patent ID: 8306314

Claim:
A method for determining a pose of an object in a scene, comprising a processor for performing steps of the method, comprising the steps of: rendering sets of virtual images of a model of the object using a virtual camera, wherein each set of virtual images is for a different known pose of the model, and wherein the model is illuminated by a set of virtual light sources, and wherein there is one virtual image for each virtual light source in a particular set for a particular know pose; constructing virtual depth edge map from each virtual image; storing each set of depth edge maps in a database and associating each set of depth edge maps with the corresponding known pose; acquiring a set of real images of the object in the scene with a real camera, wherein the object has an unknown pose, and wherein the object is illuminated by a set of real light sources, and wherein there is one real image for each real light source; constructing real depth edge map for each real image; and matching the real depth edge maps with the virtual depth edge maps of each set of virtual images using a cost function to determine the known pose that best matches the unknown pose, wherein the matching is based on locations and orientations of pixels in the depth edge maps.