Visual Motion of Curves and Surfaces

Rating:
Summary: A useful combination of tutorial and monograph.
Review: The authors of this book explore the state of the art in reconstruction from silhouettes. This is a task that appears easy for humans, but has proved very difficult to emulate in the computer. I found the book to be an enjoyable introduction to one of those areas of computer vision about which one ought to know, but has never really had the time to explore.

The first part is a thorough theoretical analysis of the problem. Despite its mathematical sophistication, this is nevertheless clear and readable, helped considerably by the fine tutorial on differential geometry which begins the book. This tutorial, and the introduction to the apparent contour which it precedes, serves as a useful reference in its own right. However, the reader who has had no previous experience of differential geometry will probably also require a more sedate introduction.

Welcome is the emphasis on practical implementations of the theory, which has often been neglected in this area. The authors demonstrate algorithms for reconstruction from known, unknown, and constrained motion, with impressive results.

Rating:
Summary: A useful combination of tutorial and monograph.
Review: The authors of this book explore the state of the art in reconstruction from silhouettes. This is a task that appears easy for humans, but has proved very difficult to emulate in the computer. I found the book to be an enjoyable introduction to one of those areas of computer vision about which one ought to know, but has never really had the time to explore.

The first part is a thorough theoretical analysis of the problem. Despite its mathematical sophistication, this is nevertheless clear and readable, helped considerably by the fine tutorial on differential geometry which begins the book. This tutorial, and the introduction to the apparent contour which it precedes, serves as a useful reference in its own right. However, the reader who has had no previous experience of differential geometry will probably also require a more sedate introduction.

Welcome is the emphasis on practical implementations of the theory, which has often been neglected in this area. The authors demonstrate algorithms for reconstruction from known, unknown, and constrained motion, with impressive results.