Quotidian scene reconstruction engine

Abstract

A stored volumetric scene model of a real scene is generated from data defining digital images of a light field in a real scene containing different types of media. The digital images have been formed by a camera from opposingly directed poses and each digital image contains image data elements defined by stored data representing light field flux received by light sensing detectors in the camera. The digital images are processed by a scene reconstruction engine to form a digital volumetric scene model representing the real scene. The volumetric scene model (i) contains volumetric data elements defined by stored data representing one or more media characteristics and (ii) contains solid angle data elements defined by stored data representing the flux of the light field. Adjacent volumetric data elements form corridors, at least one of the volumetric data elements in at least one corridor represents media that is partially light transmissive. The constructed digital volumetric scene model data is stored in a digital data memory for subsequent uses and applications.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining at least one characteristic of at least one feature of a surface in a scene, comprising:
 acquiring one or more digital images of the scene, wherein each digital image comprises pixels sensing a polarimetric plurality of polarization characteristics of light, wherein at least one digital image senses light reflecting off the surface, and wherein the surface is any one of or any combination of non-Lambertian, partially transmissive and featureless;   creating or accessing a scene model comprising volumetric data elements and solid angle data elements, wherein at least one volumetric data element represents the surface as a heterogeneous media, and wherein at least one solid angle data element represents the light as radiometric power;   updating the scene model based at least in part upon a comparison of a portion of one or more predicted images corresponding to a portion of the one or more digital images; and   determining at least one characteristic of the at least one feature of the surface based at least in part upon the scene model.