Recovery of surface orientation from diffuse polarization

When unpolarized light is reflected from a smooth dielectric surface, it becomes partially polarized. This is due to the orientation of dipoles induced in the reflecting medium and applies to both specular and diffuse reflection. This paper is concerned with exploiting polarization by surface reflection, using images of smooth dielectric objects, to recover surface normals and, hence, height. This paper presents the underlying physics of polarization by reflection, starting with the Fresnel equations. These equations are used to interpret images taken with a linear polarizer and digital camera, revealing the shape of the objects. Experimental results are presented that illustrate that the technique is accurate near object limbs, as the theory predicts, with less precise, but still useful, results elsewhere. A detailed analysis of the accuracy of the technique for a variety of materials is presented. A method for estimating refractive indices using a laser and linear polarizer is also given

The Computation of Surface Lightness in Simple and Complex Scenes

The present thesis examined how reflectance properties and the complexity of surface mesostructure (small-scale surface relief) influence perceived lightness in centresurround displays. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluated the role of surface relief, gloss, and interreflections on lightness constancy, which was examined across changes in background albedo and illumination level. For surfaces with visible mesostructure (“rocky” surfaces), lightness constancy across changes in background albedo was better for targets embedded in glossy versus matte surfaces. However, this improved lightness constancy for gloss was not observed when illumination varied. Control experiments compared the matte and glossy rocky surrounds to two control displays, which matched either pixel histograms or a phase-scrambled power spectrum. Lightness constancy was improved for rocky glossy displays over the histogram-matched displays, but not compared to phase-scrambled variants of these images with equated power spectrums. The results were similar for surfaces rendered with 1, 2, 3 and 4 interreflections. These results suggest that lightness perception in complex centre-surround displays can be explained by the distribution of contrast across space and scale, independently of explicit information about surface shading or specularity. The results for surfaces without surface relief (“homogeneous” surfaces) differed qualitatively to rocky surfaces, exhibiting abrupt steps in perceived lightness at points at which the targets transitioned from being increments to decrements. Chapter 4 examined whether homogeneous displays evoke more complex mid-level representations similar to conditions of transparency. Matching target lightness in a homogeneous display to that in a textured or rocky display required varying both lightness and transmittance of the test patch on the textured display to obtain the most satisfactory matches. However, transmittance was only varied to match the contrast of targets against homogeneous surrounds, and not to explicitly match the amount of transparency perceived in the displays. The results suggest perceived target-surround edge contrast differs between homogeneous and textured displays. Varying the mid-level property of transparency in textured displays provides a natural means for equating both target lightness and the unique appearance of the edge contrast in homogeneous displays

Polarized 3D: High-Quality Depth Sensing with Polarization Cues

Coarse depth maps can be enhanced by using the shape information from polarization cues. We propose a framework to combine surface normals from polarization (hereafter polarization normals) with an aligned depth map. Polarization normals have not been used for depth enhancement before. This is because polarization normals suffer from physics-based artifacts, such as azimuthal ambiguity, refractive distortion and fronto-parallel signal degradation. We propose a framework to overcome these key challenges, allowing the benefits of polarization to be used to enhance depth maps. Our results demonstrate improvement with respect to state-of-the-art 3D reconstruction techniques.Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Doctoral Fellowship)Singapore. Ministry of Education (Academic Research Foundation MOE2013-T2-1-159)Singapore. National Research Foundation (Singapore University of Technology and Design

The Computation of Surface Lightness in Simple and Complex Scenes

The present thesis examined how reflectance properties and the complexity of surface mesostructure (small-scale surface relief) influence perceived lightness in centresurround displays. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluated the role of surface relief, gloss, and interreflections on lightness constancy, which was examined across changes in background albedo and illumination level. For surfaces with visible mesostructure (“rocky” surfaces), lightness constancy across changes in background albedo was better for targets embedded in glossy versus matte surfaces. However, this improved lightness constancy for gloss was not observed when illumination varied. Control experiments compared the matte and glossy rocky surrounds to two control displays, which matched either pixel histograms or a phase-scrambled power spectrum. Lightness constancy was improved for rocky glossy displays over the histogram-matched displays, but not compared to phase-scrambled variants of these images with equated power spectrums. The results were similar for surfaces rendered with 1, 2, 3 and 4 interreflections. These results suggest that lightness perception in complex centre-surround displays can be explained by the distribution of contrast across space and scale, independently of explicit information about surface shading or specularity. The results for surfaces without surface relief (“homogeneous” surfaces) differed qualitatively to rocky surfaces, exhibiting abrupt steps in perceived lightness at points at which the targets transitioned from being increments to decrements. Chapter 4 examined whether homogeneous displays evoke more complex mid-level representations similar to conditions of transparency. Matching target lightness in a homogeneous display to that in a textured or rocky display required varying both lightness and transmittance of the test patch on the textured display to obtain the most satisfactory matches. However, transmittance was only varied to match the contrast of targets against homogeneous surrounds, and not to explicitly match the amount of transparency perceived in the displays. The results suggest perceived target-surround edge contrast differs between homogeneous and textured displays. Varying the mid-level property of transparency in textured displays provides a natural means for equating both target lightness and the unique appearance of the edge contrast in homogeneous displays

Characterization methods for silicon photodiode and silicon sub-surface properties

This thesis considers the characterization of silicon photodiode and the applications of silicon photodiodes in precision metrology, and some aspects of the silicon material characterizations. Such material characterizations are required in the process of semiconductor device manufacturing, one example of which is the silicon photodiode manufacturing. The motivation for the research on radiometry reported in this thesis has been the development of optical metrology at the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT). Most of the applications for this research are found in the UV-metrology. Importance of the UV-metrology arises from the environmental importance of accurate gauging of optical power at these wavelengths. This thesis describes the derivation and experimental verification of simple mathematical models, based on Fresnel equations. These models have allowed significant reductions in the uncertainties of spectrophotometric and radiometric measurements, especially in the UV wavelengths. These measurements are carried out using silicon photodiode-based detection systems. The reductions achieved in the measurement uncertainties have been utilized in the detector-based realizations of optical quantities maintained as national standards at HUT. The structure and operating principle of silicon photodiodes brings up the process of manufacturing of these devices, and the material characterizations required during this process. Novel methods in machining of silicon wafers for semiconductor industry pose new challenges for these characterizations. One such challenge is the need to characterize sub-surface damage in silicon wafers, induced by abrasive machining. The measurement of the sub-surface damage in silicon was the goal set for the work on materials characterization reported here. Various potential solutions to this requirement have been studied in this thesis, some of which are based on the spectrophotometric research carried out at HUT. Complete solution to this requirement has not been found. This thesis compares a number of promising methods and combines their respective advantages in order to create a more comprehensive understanding on the subject under study.reviewe

Tehnike zrcaljenja u Real-Time računalnoj grafici

Reflections have a long history in computer graphics, as they are important for conveying a sense of realism as well as depth and proportion. Their implementations come with a multitude of difficulties, and each solution typically has various trade-offs. Approaches highly depend on the geometry of the reflective surface since curved reflectors are usually more difficult to portray accurately. Techniques can typically be categorized by whether they work with the actual geometry of the reflected objects or with an image of these objects. For curved surfaces, image-based techniques are usually preferred, whereas for planar surfaces the reflected geometry can be used more easily because of the lack of distortion. With current advances in graphics hardware technology, ray tracing is also becoming more viable for real-time applications. Many modern solutions often combine multiple approaches to form a hybrid technique. In this paper, we give an overview of the techniques used in computer graphics applications to create real-time reflections. We highlight the trade-offs that have to be dealt with when choosing a particular technique, as well as their ability to produce interreflections. Finally, we describe how contemporary state-of-the-art rendering engines deal with reflections.Zrcaljenja imaju dugu povijest primjene u računalnoj grafici zbog njihove važnosti u prenošenju realističnosti prikaza te prikaza dubine i omjera na slikama. Pri implementaciji zrcaljenja dolazimo do raznih teškoća i svako novo rješenje često imaju svoju cijenu. Pristupi implementacije ovise o geometriji plohe na kojoj leži prikaz, Što je ploha zakrivljenija, to je teže postići vjerni prikaz. Tehnike možemo kategorizirati u one koje rade sa stvarnom geometrijom zrcaljenih objekata te one koje rade samo sa slikama objekata. Kod zakrivljenih ploha koriste se tehnike bazirane na slikama, dok se kod ravninskih ploha koristi zrcaljena geometrija jer nema iskrivljenja. Zahvaljujući trenutnom razvoju tehnologije grafičkih hardvera, metoda praćenja zraka (ray tracing) postaje sve isplativija u real-time primjeni. Mnoga moderna rješenja kombiniraju razne pristupe i dolazi do hibridnih tehnika. U ovom radu dajemo pregled tehnika korištenih u primjeni računalne grafike za postizanje real-time zrcalnih slika. Naglašavamo probleme koji nastaju pri korištenju određene tehnike te njihove mogućnosti u pogledu stvaranja međuzrcaljenja. Naposljetku, opisujemo kako moderni alati za renderiranje rješavaju probleme zrcaljenj