In vision and graphics, advanced object models require not only 3D shape, but also surface detail. While several scanning devices exist to capture the global shape of an object, few methods concentrate on capturing the fine-scale detail. Fine-scale surface geometry (relief texture), such as surface markings, roughness, and imprints, is essential in highly realistic rendering and accurate prediction. We present a novel approach for measuring the relief texture of specular or partially specular surfaces using a specialized imaging device with a concave parabolic mirror to view multiple angles in a single image. Laser scanning typically fails for specular surfaces because of light scattering, but our method is explicitly designed for specular surfaces. Also, the spatial resolution of the measured geometry is significantly higher than standard methods, so very small surface details are captured. Furthermore, spatially varying reflectance is measured simultaneously, i.e., both texture color and texture shape are retrieved.

In vision and graphics, there is a sustained interest in capturing accurate 3D shape with various scanning devices. However, the resulting geometric representation is only part of the story. Surface texture of real objects is also an important component of the representation and fine-scale surface geometry such as surface markings, roughness, and imprints, are essential in highly realistic rendering and accurate prediction. We present a novel approach for measuring the fine-scale surface shape of specular surfaces using a curved mirror to view multiple angles in a single image. A distinguishing aspect of our method is that it is designed for specular surfaces, unlike many methods (e.g. laser scanning) which cannot handle highly specular objects. Also, the spatial resolution is very high so that it can resolve very small surface details that are beyond the resolution of standard devices. Furthermore, our approach incorporates the simultaneous use of a bidirectional texture measurement method, so that spatially varying bidirectional reflectance is measured at the same time as surface shape.