Based on insights gained from such designs, we formulate a novel unifying theory of imaging. We prove that all single viewpoint mirror-lens devices are equivalent to projective mappings from the sphere to the plane. These mappings are paired with a duality principle which relates points to line projections. The commonly used parabolic mirror projection is shown to be equivalent to the stereographic projection, providing therefore the invariants of a conformal mapping. It turns out that conventional cameras, which are only a special case in our theory, provide the barest minimum of information about the environment.
Immersive environments involve focusing on the interaction with a person.
In these cases, omnidirectionality means looking from different directions inwardly, to a focused point. Utilizing a camera cluster pointed to a person from multiple directions, we developed a first testbed for viewpoint independent scene acquisition in real-time. 3D descriptions obtained from multiple trinocular reconstructions are transmitted over the Internet to a remote site, where a spatially augmented display provides an immersive rendering of the remote person and scene. We address the algorithmic issues involved in achieving a real-time and yet visually compelling reconstruction. Prior to his current appointment he was with the Cognitive Systems Group, University of Kiel.