We present a novel 3D face reconstruction technique that leverages sparse photometric stereo (PS) and latest advances on face registration modeling from a single image. We observe that 3D morphable faces approach provides a reasonable geometry proxy for light position calibration. Specifically, we develop a robust optimization technique that can calibrate per-pixel lighting direction and illumination at a very high precision without assuming uniform surface albedos. Next, we apply semantic segmentation on input images and the geometry proxy to refine hairy vs. bare skin regions using tailored filters. Experiments on synthetic and real data show that by using a very small set of images, our technique is able to reconstruct fine geometric details such as wrinkles, eyebrows, whelks, pores, etc, comparable to and sometimes surpassing movie quality productions.
@cite_35: This paper provides an introduction to photometric methods for image-based 3D shape reconstruction and a survey of photometric stereo techniques. We begin with taxonomy of active and passive shape acquisition techniques. Then we describe the methodical background of photometric 3D reconstruction, define the canonical setting of photometric stereo (Lambertian surface reflectance, parallel incident light, known illumination direction, known surface albedo, absence of cast shadows), discuss the 3D reconstruction of surfaces from local gradients, summarize the concept of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), and outline several important empirically and physically motivated reflectance models. We provide a detailed treatment of several generalizations of the canonical setting of photometric stereo, namely non-distant light sources, unknown illumination directions, and, in some detail, non-Lambertian surface reflectance functions. An important special case is purely specular reflections, where an extended light source allows capturing a surface that consists of perfectly specular surface patches. Linear combinations of purely Lambertian and purely specular reflectance components are favorably used for reconstructing smooth surfaces and also human skin. Nonuniform surface reflectance properties are estimated based on a simultaneous 3D reconstruction and determination of the locally variable parameters of the reflectance function based on a multitude of images. Assuming faceted surfaces, the effective resolution of the 3D reconstruction result can be increased to some extent beyond that of the underlying images. Other approaches separate specular and diffuse reflectance components based on polarization data or color information. The specular reflections can be used additionally to estimate the direction from which the surface is illuminated. Finally, we describe methods to combine photometric 3D reconstruction techniques with active and passive triangulation-based approaches.
@cite_14: We present a novel process for acquiring detailed facial geometry with high resolution diffuse and specular photometric information from multiple viewpoints using polarized spherical gradient illumination. Key to our method is a new pair of linearly polarized lighting patterns which enables multiview diffuse-specular separation under a given spherical illumination condition from just two photographs. The patterns -- one following lines of latitude and one following lines of longitude -- allow the use of fixed linear polarizers in front of the cameras, enabling more efficient acquisition of diffuse and specular albedo and normal maps from multiple viewpoints. In a second step, we employ these albedo and normal maps as input to a novel multi-resolution adaptive domain message passing stereo reconstruction algorithm to create high resolution facial geometry. To do this, we formulate the stereo reconstruction from multiple cameras in a commonly parameterized domain for multiview reconstruction. We show competitive results consisting of high-resolution facial geometry with relightable reflectance maps using five DSLR cameras. Our technique scales well for multiview acquisition without requiring specialized camera systems for sensing multiple polarization states.
@cite_26: We estimate surface normal maps of an object from either its diffuse or specular reflectance using four spherical gradient illumination patterns. In contrast to traditional photometric stereo, the spherical patterns allow normals to be estimated simultaneously from any number of viewpoints. We present two polarized lighting techniques that allow the diffuse and specular normal maps of an object to be measured independently. For scattering materials, we show that the specular normal maps yield the best record of detailed surface shape while the diffuse normals deviate from the true surface normal due to subsurface scattering, and that this effect is dependent on wavelength. We show several applications of this acquisition technique. First, we capture normal maps of a facial performance simultaneously from several viewing positions using time-multiplexed illumination. Second, we show that highresolution normal maps based on the specular component can be used with structured light 3D scanning to quickly acquire high-resolution facial surface geometry using off-the-shelf digital still cameras. Finally, we present a realtime shading model that uses independently estimated normal maps for the specular and diffuse color channels to reproduce some of the perceptually important effects of subsurface scattering.
@cite_29: Direct analytical methods are discussed for solving Poisson equations of the general form Delta u=f on a rectangular domain. Some embedding techniques that may be useful when boundary conditions (obtained from stereo and occluding boundary) are defined on arbitrary contours are described. The suggested algorithms are computationally efficient owing to the use of fast orthogonal transforms. Applications to shape from shading, lightness and optical flow problems are also discussed. A proof for the existence and convergence of the flow estimates is given. Experiments using synthetic images indicate that results comparable to those using multigrid can be obtained in a very small number of iterations. >
@cite_3: A novel technique called photometric stereo is introduced. The idea of photometric stereo is to vary the direction of incident illumination between successive images, while holding the viewing direction constant. It is shown that this provides sufficient information to determine surface orientation at each image point. Since the imaging geometry is not changed, the correspondence between image points is known a priori. The technique is photometric because it uses the radiance values recorded at a single image location, in successive views, rather than the relative positions of displaced features. Photometric stereo is used in computer-based image understanding. It can be applied in two ways. First, it is a general technique for deter-mining surface orientation at each image point. Second, it is a technique for determining object points that have a particular surface orientation. These applications are illustrated using synthesized examples.
In computer graphics and vision, photometric Stereo (PS) @cite_3 is the widely adopted technique for inferring the normal map of the face. The normal map can then be integrated (e.g, using Poisson completion @cite_29 ) to reconstruct the point cloud and then mesh. We refer the readers to the comprehensive survey @cite_35 for the benefits and problems of the state-of-the-art methods. In general, recovering high quality 3D geometry requires using complex setups. The most notable work is the USC Light Stage @cite_26 @cite_14 that utilizes 156 dedicatedly controlled light sources simulating the first-order spherical harmonics function. Their solution can produce very high-quality normal map using near point light sources and the results are superb and have been adopted in movie productions. The setup, however, is rather expensive in cost and labor. Developing cheaper solutions capable of producing similar quality reconstruction is highly desirable , but by far few solutions can match the Light Stage.