Synthetic 3D Imaging

1996 Spring (CS E6998-045)
Mondays, 4:10pm-6:00pm.
Location: 252 MUDD

Instructor

Mark Lucente, Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
Office hours: Mondays, by appointment
Office: 450 Mudd (ask for passage) room 514

Course Outline

Visual depth cues. The human visual system, including the structures of the eye and brain. Which depth cues are most important? Do we think in 3D? What is 3D good for?

Fundamentals of optics and imaging, computer graphics, signal processing, VRML, etc., included as required throughout the course.

Stereoscopic imaging. Stereoscopes and free-viewing. Binocular disparity and random-dot stereograms ("those things in the mall.") Geometries that provide proper binocular disparity, within the limits of convergence and accommodation.

Stereoscopic displays. Multiplexing left/right channels using polarization, wavelength (color, i.e., anaglyphs), or time-switching (shutters, e.g., Crystal Eyes). Applications and limitations.

Autostereoscopic displays: parallax barrier displays, lenticular displays, moving slits, and Integral photography. Construction and functionality. Constraints of horizontal-parallax-only. Trade-off between parallax and image resolution. Applications and limitations.

Volumetric or slice-stacking displays. Physical stacking and compositing, varifocal mirror, spinning or moving projection surfaces or emissive surfaces. Limitations (no occlusion!) and applications.

Holography. Interference and diffraction - how it works and how it breaks. Recording media. Transmission and reflection geometries.

Computational holography. Computing and "printing" methods. Making the most of number of samples (bandwidth) and precision (bits/sample).

Interactive holographic displays. History of electro-holography or "holovideo", and its future. Fast holographic fringe computation and bandwidth compression. Optical modulation techniques. Bandwidth vs. image depth vs. image resolution.

Practical 3D imaging systems: Demonstrations, evaluations, field-trips(?).

This course will emphasize the use of available hardware and software to create 3D images. Assignments will consist of three parts: learning the basics, mastering the tools, and creating actual 3D images and imaging systems. Results will be shared among students such that subsequent projects can build atop earlier work. Each student should maintain a personal WWWeb page for this course - logging projects as proposed and completed, posting useful software tools and 3D object data, and assembling pertinent or interesting "3D" material.

Laboratory sessions will be conducted during class and as scheduled, depending on class size and on equipment availability. Expenses for laboratory and project work will be about $50 per student (or more is individually required). We will try to use common equipment including 35-mm cameras, laser printers, etc.

Grades will be based on assignments and tests, as well as on knowledge generation and contribution to the class. The particular needs and curiosities of the class will determine the coverage and emphasis.

A reading list is on line and will updated occasionally.

"3D nuts speak a strange eclectic language...." -- come learn it!