Dynamic Anamorphosis as a Special, Computer-Generated User Interface

A classical or static anamorphic image requires a specific, usually a highly oblique view direction, from which the observer can see the anamorphosis in its correct form. This paper explains dynamic anamorphosis which adapts itself to the changing position of the observer so that wherever the observer moves, he sees the same undeformed image. This dynamic changing of the anamorphic deformation in concert with the movement of the observer requires from the system to track the 3D position of the observer’s eyes and the re-computation of the anamorphic deformation in real time. This is achieved using computer vision methods which consist of face detection and tracking the 3D position of the selected observer. An application of this system of dynamic anamorphosis in the context of an interactive art installation is described. We show that anamorphic deformation is also useful for improving eye contact in videoconferencing. Other possible applications involve novel user interfaces where the user can freely move and observe perspectively undeformed images.