To compile OpenCV 3.1.0 successfully on modern Ubuntu systems for use with Visual SLAM projects, follow these corrected steps to resolve common dependency and build-time issues.

Step 1: Install Required System Dependencies

Begin by installing essential libraries. Due to package version changes in newer Ubuntu releases, adjust the original command as follows:

sudo apt-get install build-essential libgtk2.0-dev libvtk6-dev libjpeg-dev libtiff5-dev libopenexr-dev libtbb-dev

If libjasper-dev is missing, manually add the Xenial security reopsitory:

echo "deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libjasper-dev

After this, re-run the full dependency installation command to ensure all packages are present.

Step 2: Download and Extract OpenCV 3.1.0

Download the OpenCV 3.1.0 source archive from the official GitHub releases page. Extract it to your preferred working directory—for example, ~/src/opencv-3.1.0.

Step 3: Configure and Build with CMake

Navigate into the extracted folder and create a build directory:

cd opencv-3.1.0
mkdir build && cd build

Configure the build with custom installation prefix and disable problematic features:

cmake -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
      -D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/opencv3 \
      -D ENABLE_PRECOMPILED_HEADERS=OFF \
      -D BUILD_opencv_python2=OFF \
      -D BUILD_opencv_python3=OFF ..

If the build fails due to slow or failed download of ippicv, manually download the file:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Itseez/opencv_3rdparty/81a676001ca8075ada498583e4166079e5744668/ippicv/ippicv_linux_20151201.tgz

Place it under:

opencv-3.1.0/3rdparty/ippicv/downloads/linux-808b791a6eac9ed78d32a7666804320e/

Then resume compilation:

make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

Step 4: Resolve Compilation Errors

If you encounter an error in cap_ffmpeg_impl.hpp related to undefined macros, edit the file at:

modules/videoio/src/cap_ffmpeg_impl.hpp

Add these lines near the top (after includes):

#define AV_CODEC_FLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER (1 << 22)
#define CODEC_FLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER AV_CODEC_FLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER
#define AVFMT_RAWPICTURE 0x0020

This resolves compatibility issues with newer FFmpeg versions.

Step 5: Avoid Python Binding Conflicts

The error constant l_MAGIC_VAL already exists typically occurs late in compilation due to symbol conflicts in Python bindings. Disabling Python module builds during CMake configuration prevents this entirely.