Flexible Mirror Imaging

The field of view of a traditional camera has a fixed shape. This severely restricts how scene elements can be composed into an image. We present a novel imaging system that uses a flexible mirror in conjunction with a camera to overcome this limitation. By deforming the mirror, our system can produce fields of view with a wide range of shapes and sizes. A captured image is typically a multi-perspective view of the scene with spatially varying resolution. As a result, scene objects appear distorted. To minimize these distortions, we have developed an efficient algorithm that maps a captured image to one with almost uniform resolution. To determine this mapping we need to know the shape of the mirror. For this, we have developed a simple calibration method that automatically estimates the mirror shape from its boundary, which is visible in the captured image. We present a number of examples that demonstrate that a flexible field of view imaging system can be used to compose scenes in w...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: ICCV
• Authors: Sujit Kuthirummal, Shree K. Nayar
• Keywords: Captured Image, Computer Vision, Flexible Mirror, ICCV 2007, Mirror Shape, Scene Elements, Simple Calibration Method