3D Image Acquisition
During my time at Fordham University, under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen Holler, I worked on a 3D Image Acquisition project. The objective of this project was to develop a creative method of viewing 3D anaglyphs. By utilizing cost-efficient materials such as a 3D printed skull and cheap webcams, we created a skull with anaglyph image acquisition capabilities.
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We began this project by finding a skull on the Thingiverse and 3D printing it in a MakerBot Replicator Z18. This process took over a day as the base of the skull and the skull cap were to be printed separately. After the printing process, we utilized a dremmel to carve out the sockets of the webcams (eye sockets). This was a delicate process because while using a rotary tool, the plastic filament used in printing the skull would heat up and begin to melt.
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After creating the sockets in which the webcams would sit, we spent some time properly aligning the webcams so the images viewed were correctly oriented. The webcams were then glued into place to maintain their orientations. This was a critical step because had the images not been misaligned, the anaglyphs we obtain would not necessarily display correctly. To make the anaglyphs themselves, we flipped the images, rotated it and then assigned one a red color and the other a cyan color. We did this because the way our eyes views images is affected geometric optics - by the time images reach our retina, the image is upside down.
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We wrote a short Matlab code to allow for live streaming of this data, along with GUI to easily start of stop the data recording process. By wearing anaglyph glasses, one can view these images with depth perception.
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While this was a simple application of image acquisition, 3D anaglyphs have a large potential in terms of the future. Bots with this depth perception could send live streams of this data back to a source. By sending these bots into war zones, dangerous situations or even space, individuals could acquire a holistic view of an area with depth perception.