ACM TechNews

Textured Graphics Can Be Captured in a Flash

New Scientist (08/27/08) Barras, Colin

Researchers from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom have developed a new technique for making more realistic textures for the virtual worlds of computer games. The process involves taking two photos of textured surfaces. Working with Gregory Ward at Dolby Canada in Vancouver, the team took a photo with flash to prevent protruding surface parts from appearing brighter than parts in cracks and pits, which enabled the researchers to record the true color of every part of the surface. The researchers also took another photo without extra lighting, then used software to compare the brightness of every matching pair of pixels in the two images and to calculate how much of the brightness is due to its position and color. They were able to produce a realistic rendering of a surface's texture using the information. The team presented its results at the ACM SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles.

http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/
dn14612-textured-graphics-can-be-captured-in-a-flash.html

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