Radial Imaging Systems: Capturing Complete Texture Map and Geometry of Convex Objects
Project Page: http://www.cs.columbia.edu/CAVE/proje...
A picture taken by a conventional camera captures the scene from the camera's single viewpoint. In many applications in computer vision and computer graphics, it is desirable to capture the scene from a large number of viewpoints. In this project, we explore a class of imaging systems, called radial imaging systems, that capture a scene from a large number of viewpoints within a single image using a camera and a curved mirror. Specifically, we examine the class of radial imaging systems that consist of a conventional camera looking through a hollow cone mirrored on the inside. The field of view of the camera gets folded inwards and the scene is imaged from circular loci of virtual viewpoints, in addition to the viewpoint of the camera. We have analyzed the field of view and resolution characteristics as well as the structure of the viewpoint locus for this class of imaging systems. We have built radial imaging systems that can, from a single image, recover the frontal 3D structure of an object, generate the complete texture map of a convex object, and estimate the parameters of an analytic BRDF for an isotropic material. In addition, one of our systems can recover the complete geometry of a convex object by capturing only two images.
This video shows how a radial imaging system with a conical mirror can capture the complete texture map of a convex object by taking just one image. Capturing two such images with parallax enables the recovery of the complete geometry of the object. (With narration)