A Synthetic-Aperture Camera Array MIT 9904-14 Proposal for 1999-2000 Funding

One goal of computer graphics is to create compelling visuals indistinguishable from actual photographs. Ideally, these visuals would be generated in real time. Once these goals are achieved, computer graphics technology could be used to immerse users within compelling interactive environments. Thus, expanding the applications of these methods beyond the mere presentation of information to communication of visual experiences. Unfortunately, the current state-of-the-art in computer graphics is far from reaching either of these goals. Fundamentally, the two most difficult problems in traditional three-dimensional computer graphics are the generation of realistic geometric models and the simulation of the realistic physics required to render these models faithfully. We intend to side step both of these problems through the use of an alternate scene representation. We propose to construct a system in which new images are synthesized directly from a database of reference images. Furthermore, these reference images will be acquired directly from the real world. Thus, we avoid the traditional step of analyzing images in order to construct geometric and photometric models. The system that we propose would be comprised of a two-dimensional array of cameras that act together as a single device, which we call a synthetic-aperture camera.