Texture mapping method from image streams captured by free camerawork

The authors propose a method to reproduce surface textures by mapping images used in shape restoration as textures when generating a three-dimensional computer graphic image after restoring a three-dimensional shape from multi-viewpoint data of a real-world model. In the past, an image used as a texture had to be captured under the same lighting conditions and at the same spatial resolution as its source. In this paper, the authors consider a method to select and correct an optimal image from among images captured using free camerawork, and then use it for mapping. In other words, the authors take into consideration the distance between the patch surface and points of capture, while at the same time comparing the orientation of the patch surfaces which comprise a three-dimensional object and the orientation of the camera at the point from which it takes pictures. As a result, optimal pictures can be selected even when the distance to the subject or the position of the camera changes. In addition, by matching the pixel values distributed along the shared boundaries among adjacent patch surfaces, errors that may exist in the mapping between the patch surface and texture image can be corrected. Using their method, the authors perform verification experiments on a three-dimensional shape obtained using the factorization method and achieve good results. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.