Point Light Source Estimation based on Scenes Recorded by a RGB-D camera

Abstract

Estimation of the point light source position in the scene enhances the experience for augmented reality. The image and depth information from the RGB-D camera allows estimation of the point light source position in a scene, where our approach does not need any probe objects or other measuring devices. The approach uses the Lambertian reflectance model, where the RGB-D camera provides the image and the surface model and the remaining unknowns are the albedo and light parameters (light intensity and direction). In order to determine the light parameters, we assume that segments with a similar colour have the same albedo, which allows us to find the point light source that explains the illumination in the scene. The performance of this method is evaluated on multiple scenes, where a single light bulb is used to illuminate the scene. In this case, the average error in the angle between the true light position vector and our estimate is around 10 degrees. This allows realistic rendering of synthetic objects into the recorded scene, which is used to improve the experience of augmented reality.

Publication
British Machine Vision Conference (BMVC, 2013).
Date