Robust and fast modeling of 3D natural objects from multiple views

An algorithm for the robust and fast automatic construction of a 3D model of any real object using images from multiple views is presented. The images are taken from a real object rotating in front of a stationary calibrated CCD TV camera. The object silhouettes extracted from the input images, the related turntable positions, and camera orientation are used to construct the volume model of the real object by applying the method of occluding contours. A keypoint in performing this method is a proper volume representation, characterized by low complexity and suitability for a fast computation of volume models. In the presented approach, each volume model is described by pillar-like volume elements (pillars) ensuring a computational complexity proportional to the size of the real object surface and enabling a fast and simple construction of the volume model. The fast performance is due to the simple projection feasibility of those pillars and the easy-to-perform intersection test for the object silhouette with the projected pillars. Results with real image sequences have confirmed the robustness of the developed algorithm even for the modelling of real objects with highly detailed and complex surfaces and the use of imperfect object silhouettes.