Paper Houses

A Framework for Realtime 3-D Reconstruction by Space Carving Using Graphics Hardware

Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: Reconstruction of real-world scenes from a set of multiple images is a topic in Computer Vision and 3D Computer Graphics with many interesting applications. There is a relation to Augmented and Mixed Reality (AR/MR), Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW), Computer-Aided industrial/architectural Design (CAD), modeling of the real-world (e.g. computer games, scenes/effects in movies), entertainment (e.g. 3D TV/Video) and recognition/analyzing of real-world characteristics by computer systems and robots. There exists a powerful algorithm theory for shape reconstruction from arbitrary viewpoints, called shape from photo-consistency. However, it is computationally expensive and hence can not be used with applications in the field of 3D video or CSCW as well as interactive 3D model creation. Attempts have been made to achieve real-time framerates using PC cluster systems. While these provide enough performance they are also expensive and less flexible. Approaches that use GPU hardware-acceleration on single workstations achieve interactive framerates for novel-view synthesis, but do not provide an explicit volumetric representation of the whole scene. The proposed approach shows the efforts in developing a GPU hardware-accelerated framework for obtaining the volumetric photo hull of a dynamic 3D scene as seen from multiple calibrated cameras. High performance is achieved by employing a shape from silhouette technique in advance to obtain a tight initial volume for shape from photo-consistency. Also several speed-up techniques are presented to increase efficiency. Since the entire processing is done on a single PC, the framework can be applied to mobile setups, enabling a wide range of further applications. The approach is explained using programmable vertex and fragment processors and compared to highly optimized CPU implementations. It is shown that the new approach can outperform the latter by more than one magnitude. The thesis is organized as follows: Chapter 1 contains an introduction, giving an overview with classification of related techniques, statement of the main problem, novelty of the proposed approach and its fields of application. Chapter 2 surveys related work in the area of dynamic scene reconstruction by shape from silhouette and shape from photo-consistency. The focus lies on high performance reconstruction and hardware-acceleration. Chapter 3 introduces the theoretical basis for the proposed [...]

The Cult of the Dead in a Chinese Village

This study deals primarily with Ch'inan, a village in northern Taiwan whose residents belong to one ethnic group: Hokkien-speaking Chinese whose ancestors made the journey from the southeast coast of mainland China over 200 years ago. It deals almost exclusively with the complex of institutions associated with the care and management of the dead. The book covers the history of Ch'inan, and how the village is organized today, making use of historical records, such as lineage genealogies. Sociological correlates of ancestor worship in ancestral halls and before domestic altars are examined. The darker side of ancestor worship is also explored, in which the dead stand out as dangerous creatures capable of harming or frightening the living. Perspective is then expanded to other parts of Taiwan, to consider how the form of the community affects the cult of the ancestors, how different reciprocal obligations between the living the dead affect ancestor worship, and in what ways people react to the obligations of ancestor worship.

Domestic Commerce Series