Patent ID: 8654246

Claim:
An image processor comprising: a polarized light source for irradiating the surface of an object with polarized light that is linearly polarized light, of which the polarization plane changes sequentially; a camera that has an image capturing plane, on which a number of photosensitive cells, each having a size corresponding to one pixel, are arranged, and that captures an intensity image of the object's surface based on the light that has been reflected from the object's surface; and a resolution increasing processing section for estimating normals to subpixel regions, each of which is smaller than a single pixel, at the object's surface by detecting how much the intensity of the intensity image has varied as the polarization plane changes, and for increasing the resolution of the intensity image using the normals estimated, wherein the resolution increasing processing section estimates a normal histogram within a single pixel of the intensity image by using an interreflection phenomenon of light to be produced on the object's surface, and when the camera captures the intensity image of the object's surface, the polarization plane of the linearly polarized light changes with the arrangement of the polarized light source and the camera fixed.