This work reconstructs a 3D graphics model of an object with specular surfaces by its rotation. Continuous images are taken to measure highlights on the smooth surfaces and their motion. Coplanar extended lights determine a plane of rays to produce a highlight stripe on the object. 3D surfaces are then recovered from the moving stripe. We investigate global motion characteristics of the highlights in the epipolar-plane images so as to qualitatively identify surface types and control the modeling process. Under single and multiple plane-of-rays illuminations, we give two quantitative approaches for surface and normal recovery which use highlight orientation in the image and highlight motion in the epipolar-plane images. The computations employ a first-order differential equation and linear equations, respectively.

This paper generalizes a shape recovery method for specular surfaces. We have use linear lights that generate planes of ray to highlight a rotating object so that its specular surfaces are computed from continuous images. By setting lights properly, shape at each rotation plane can be measured and a 3D graphics model can be subsequently reconstructed. In this paper, we extend the lights used to circular ones to produce cones of ray. Under such illuminations, all surface points with different normals are highlighted in a rotation period. The computation of shape is simpler than compared with the linear light case. We give results of shape recovery on real objects.

This work investigates visual characteristics of specular surfaces during rotation, and gives approaches to qualitatively identify and quantitatively recover shapes of these surfaces. Continuous images are taken when an object rotates. We look at specularly reflected patterns on the surfaces and their motion in the EPIs parallel to the rotation plane, from which estimation of each surface point and construction of the object model are carried out. We find very simple and direct methods to fulfill this objective; linear equations for multiple lights illumination, and a 1st-order differential equation for single light illumination. The motion of specular reflection has nice global characteristics in EPI. The surface types range from very shiny metal surfaces to surfaces with only week specular reflectance. We give both simulation and experiments on real objects.>

This paper proposes an approach to acquire 3D models of objects with specular reflectance for graphics use. Highlight and rotation informations are employed in the model recovery. The authors control object rotation and extract motion of a highlight stripe, from which the object shape can be qualitatively inferred and quantitatively reconstructed by solving a first-order linear differential equation. The authors have experimented on simulated and real objects to obtain their models.