DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8659.2010.01753.x COMPUTER GRAPHICS forum Volume 29 (2010), number 8 pp. 2400–2426 Transparent and Specular Object Reconstruction Ivo Ihrke1,2, Kiriakos N. Kutulakos3, Hendrik P. A. Lensch4, Marcus Magnor5 and Wolfgang Heidrich1 1University of British Columbia, Canada
[email protected],
[email protected] 2Saarland University, MPI Informatik, Germany 3University of Toronto, Canada
[email protected] 4Ulm University, Germany
[email protected] 5TU Braunschweig, Germany
[email protected] Abstract This state of the art report covers reconstruction methods for transparent and specular objects or phenomena. While the 3D acquisition of opaque surfaces with Lambertian reflectance is a well-studied problem, transparent, refractive, specular and potentially dynamic scenes pose challenging problems for acquisition systems. This report reviews and categorizes the literature in this field. Despite tremendous interest in object digitization, the acquisition of digital models of transparent or specular objects is far from being a solved problem. On the other hand, real-world data is in high demand for applications such as object modelling, preservation of historic artefacts and as input to data-driven modelling techniques. With this report we aim at providing a reference for and an introduction to the field of transparent and specular object reconstruction. We describe acquisition approaches for different classes of objects. Transparent objects/phenomena that do not change the straight ray geometry can be found foremost in natural phenomena. Refraction effects are usually small and can be considered negligible for these objects. Phenomena as diverse as fire, smoke, and interstellar nebulae can be modelled using a straight ray model of image formation.