Photometric Stereo: A Reflectance Map Technique For Determining Surface Orientation From Image Intensity

Robert J. Woodham

doi:10.1117/12.956740

9 January 1979 Photometric Stereo: A Reflectance Map Technique For Determining Surface Orientation From Image Intensity

Robert J. Woodham

Proceedings Volume 0155, Image Understanding Systems and Industrial Applications I; (1979) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.956740
Event: 22nd Annual Technical Symposium, 1978, San Diego, United States

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel technique called photometric stereo. The idea of photometric stereo is to vary the direction of the incident illumination between successive views while holding the viewing direction constant. This provides enough information to determine surface orientation at each picture element. Traditional stereo techniques determine range by relating two images of an object viewed from different directions. If the correspondence between picture elements is known, then distance to the object can be calculated by triangulation. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine this correspondence. In photometric stereo, the imaging geometry does not change. Therefore, the correspondence between picture elements is known a priori. This stereo technique is photometric because it uses the intensity values recorded at a single picture element, in successive views, rather than the relative positions of features.

Citation Download Citation

Robert J. Woodham "Photometric Stereo: A Reflectance Map Technique For Determining Surface Orientation From Image Intensity", Proc. SPIE 0155, Image Understanding Systems and Industrial Applications I, (9 January 1979); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.956740

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