The original aim of the integral-imaging concept, reported by Gabriel Lippmann more than a century ago, is the capture of images of 3D scenes for their projection onto an autostereoscopic display. In this paper we report a new algorithm for the efficient generation of microimages for their direct projection onto an integral-imaging monitor. Like our previous algorithm, the smart pseudoscopic-to-orthoscopic conversion (SPOC) algorithm, this algorithm produces microimages ready to produce 3D display with full parallax. However, this new algorithm is much simpler than the previous one, produces microimages free of black pixels, and permits fixing at will, between certain limits, the reference plane and the field of view of the displayed 3D scene. Proofs of concept are illustrated with 3D capture and 3D display experiments.

The capture and display of images of 3-D scenes under incoherent and polychromatic illumination is currently a hot topic of research, due to its broad applications in bioimaging, industrial procedures, military and surveillance, and even in the entertainment industry. In this context, Integral Imaging (InI) is a very competitive technology due to its capacity for recording with a single exposure the spatial-angular information of lightrays emitted by the 3-D scene. From this information, it is possible to calculate and display a collection of horizontal and vertical perspectives with high depth of field. It is also possible to calculate the irradiance of the original scene at different depths, even when these planes are partially occluded or even immersed in a scattering medium. In this paper, we describe the fundaments of InI and the main contributions to its development. We also focus our attention on the recent advances of the InI technique.Specifically, the application of InI concept to microscopy is analyzed and the achievements in resolution and depth of field are explained. In a different context, we also present the recent advances in the capture of large scenes. The progresses in the algorithms for the calculation of displayable 3-D images and in the implementation of setups for the 3-D displays are reviewed.

No abstract

We report a new procedure for the capture and processing of light proceeding from 3D scenes of some cubic meters in size. Specifically we demonstrate that with the information provided by a kinect device it is possible to generate an array of microimages ready for their projection onto an integralimaging monitor. We illustrate our proposal with some imaging experiment in which the final result are 3D images displayed with full parallax.Index Terms-Integral imaging, kinect, 3D monitors. I. INTRODUCTIONonventional photography is fully adapted for recording in a 2D sensor the images of the 3D world. Although the images produced by photography are essentially 2D, they carry many cues that account for the 3D nature of the recorded scenes. This is the case, among others, of the perspective rules, which make closer objects to appear biger than further ones. This effect is due to the well-known fact that the size of the image in the photographic sensor is determined by the angular size of objects. Other cues are shadows, occlusions or defocus. In case of video recording, the relative speed of moving objects (or static objects when the camera is moving) is also a significant depth cue. For most of applications the capture and display of 2D images provides enough information and/or satisfaction to users and minimizes the amount of data to be stored, transmitted and displayed. This is the reason for the still massive use of 2D photography and video.However, the need for capturing and displaying the 3D information of 3D scenes is increasing very fast in the 21 st century. Its potential application in, for example, microscopy [1],[2], medical imaging [3]-[6], optical inspection in production chains [7], security monitoring [8], or virtual simulators for civil or military applications [9], etc., makes the capture and display of 3D images a hot topic in the research end/or engineering for the next decade.

No abstract