Q-warping: Direct computation of quadratic reference surfaces

We consider the problem of wrapping around an object, of which two views are available, a reference surface and recovering the resulting parametric flow using direct computations (via spatio-temporal derivatives). The well known examples are affine flow models and eight-parameter flow models-both describing a flow field of a planar reference surface. We extend those classic flow models to deal with a quadric reference surface and work out the explicit parametric form of the flow field. As a result we derive a simple warping algorithm that maps between two views and leaves a residual flow proportional to the 3D deviation of the surface from a virtual quadric surface. The applications include image morphing, model building, image stabilization, and disparate view correspondence.