Model-based coding of multi-viewpoint imagery

A compression scheme for calibrated images depicting a static scene from arbitrary viewpoints is presented. 3-D scene geometry is reconstructed, and view-dependent texture maps are generated from all images. Texture is wavelet-coded using the SPIHT coding scheme extended to 4-D, exploiting correlations within as well as between texture maps. During decoding, all texture maps are simultaneously and progressively reconstructed. The coder provides 3-D scene geometry and multiple texture maps, enabling the use of graphics hardware to accelerate the rendering process. Three image sets acquired from real-world objects are used to evaluate the model-based coding scheme. Coding efficiency is shown for geometry approximations of different accuracy.