Interactive Operation on 3D Real Images Using Ray Description

摘要

In the field of 3D visual communications, a method of description of 3D images that would be neutral (inde- pendent) with respect to specific techniques for 3D input- output is desirable. In this context, the authors have proposed the concept of “ray-space” as a ray-based descrip- tion method for 3D image data. In this paper, the concept of“ray-space” is employed to offer a new method for simultaneous description of 3D objects and space, as well as a technique for interactive manipulation in virtual space built using real images. Synthesis of images as seen from an arbitrary viewpoint in real space means extraction of ray data on a curved surface described by some basic formula in ray-space, using information about the viewpoint loca- tion. In this study, real-time processing is pursued; for this purpose, a reference table is employed for efficient extrac- tion of ray data. Experiments were carried out concerning virtual manipulation of real objects in near-real time by means of overwriting ray-space data with ray data of the 3D object under consideration. The experiments confirmed that the proposed method offered efficient description of 3D space data and object manipulation.