Reconstruction of realistic 3D surface model and 3D animation from range images obtained by real time 3D measurement system

We have developed a new type of 3D measurement system which enabled one to obtain successive 3D range data at video rate with an error within ±0.3%. In this paper, we reconstruct realistic colored 3D surface model and 3D animation of the moving target from range images obtained by our 3D measurement system. We synthesize video images with the range images obtained by our system. A video camera is fixed on our 3D measurement system and takes video images synchronizing with the 3D measurement by it. Then, the measured 3D points are mapped onto the respective video images by means of the coordinate system transformation from the coordinate system of the 3D measurement system to that of the video camera and perspective transformation. Thus, the color and brightness of the corresponding pixel are attributed to the mapped measured 3D point. Finally, the realistic colored 3D image and animation are reconstructed through the texture mapping technique