Method and Apparatus for Determining 3D Shapes of Objects

• US 20100098323A1
• Filed: 07/18/2008
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Lanman, Douglas Robert, Taubin, Gabriel, Raskar, Ramesh, Agrawal, Amit K.
• Application Number:
  US12/175,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20100098323A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/154
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/2513 with several lines being projected in more than one direction, e.g. grids, patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10152 Varying illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20056 Discrete and fast Fourier transform, [DFT, FFT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/521 from laser ranging, e.g. using interferometry; from the projection of structured light
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/557 from light fields, e.g. from plenoptic cameras

Abstract

An apparatus and method determine a 3D shape of an object in a scene. The object is illuminated to cast multiple silhouettes on a diffusing screen coplanar and in close proximity to a mask. A single image acquired of the diffusing screen is partitioned into subview according to the silhouettes. A visual hull of the object is then constructed according to isosurfaces of the binary images to approximate the 3D shape of the object.

Claims

11-1. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a digital camera.

15. A method for determining a 3D shape of an object in a scene, comprising:

illuminating the object in the scene to casts multiple silhouettes on a mask and diffusing screen coplanar and in close proximity to the mask, and wherein the diffusing screen is behind the mask with respect to the illuminating source;

acquired a single image of the diffusing screen;

partitioning the image into subviews according to the silhouettes; and

constructing a visual hull of the object according to silhouettes in the subviews, wherein the visual hull approximates the 3D shape of the object.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the constructing further comprises:

thresholding each subview to obtain a corresponding binary image; and

constructing the visual hull of the object according to isosurfaces of the binary images.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the mask includes a pattern of pinholes.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the mask includes a sum-of-sinusoidal heterodyne pattern or any other continuous pattern resulting in impulses in frequency domain.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the mask includes a binary broadband pattern.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein pixels in each image are represented by a probability density function.