Calibration Guide Overview

MetriCal's calibration is a joint process, which includes calibrating intrinsics and extrinsics at the same time. This overview provides general guidelines for calibration before diving into the specific calibration guides.

General Calibration Principles

The following principles apply to all camera calibration scenarios:

Target Selection

MetriCal supports various calibration targets:

• Checkerboard patterns
• Charuco boards
• AprilTag grids
• Circular dot patterns (also used for LiDAR calibration)

Choose a target appropriate for your camera setup and ensure its measurements are precise and specified in meters.

Valid Data Formats

MetriCal takes a number of different input data types, but there are some special considerations that every user should know of. Reference the Valid Data Formats documentation for more details.

Data Quality Considerations

For all camera calibrations, regardless of how many cameras you're calibrating:

1. Image Focus: Always ensure targets are in focus
2. Field of View Coverage: Capture the target across the entire field of view
3. Target Orientations: When using multiple targets, rotate each one a different orientation
4. Convergence Angles: Vary the viewing angle to improve parameter estimation
5. Motion Clarity: Avoid motion blur by pausing between poses
6. Depth Variation: When possible, use non-planar targets or multiple targets at different depths

Sensor Calibration Guides

Good sensor calibration is key to building accurate perception systems. MetriCal helps you calibrate many types of sensors—from a single camera to complex multi-sensor setups. Our guides take you through each step of the process, from collecting data to checking your results. We cover single cameras, multiple cameras, and camera-LiDAR combinations with clear instructions and practical tips. Camera ↔ LiDAR ↔ IMU calibrations are also possible in MetriCal. These multi-modal calibrations follow all the same guidelines as their more specialized guides.

Choose the guide below that matches your setup to get started.

Calibration Guide Overview

General guidelines for all calibration types

View Guide →

Single Camera Calibration

Calibrate intrinsics for a single camera

View Guide →

Multi-Camera Calibration

Calibrate multiple cameras together

View Guide →

Camera ↔ LiDAR Calibration

Calibrate cameras with LiDAR sensors

View Guide →

Camera ↔ IMU Calibration

Calibrate cameras with IMU sensors

View Guide →

Calibration Workflow

1. Setup: Prepare your sensor(s) and calibration target(s)
2. Data Capture: Follow the guidelines in the specific calibration guide
3. Processing: Run MetriCal on the captured data
4. Validation: Review the calibration results and data diagnostics
5. Refinement: If needed, capture additional data to improve results

For detailed instructions on each calibration type, refer to the specific guides linked above.