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United States Patent
System and method for animating real objects with projected images

Patent Number: 7,068,274
Date of Patent: 27 June 2006
Inventors: Welch; Gregory F. (Carrboro, NC), Low; Kok-Lim (Carrboro, NC), Raskar; Ramesh (Somerville, MA)
Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Cambridge, MA)
Appl. No.: 09/930,322
Filed: 15 August 2001
Int. Cl.: G06T 15/50
U.S. Cl.: 345/426 ; 345/473; 345/581; 345/589; 348/51
16 Claims

Abstract
A computer implemented method animates a 3D physical object by first acquiring a 3D graphics model of the object. The model is edited with graphics authoring tools to reflect a desired appearance of the object. The edited model is rendered as an image considering a user location and a location of a virtual light. Then, intensity values of the image are corrected according to an orientation of a surface of the object and a radiance at the surface. The 3D physical object can finally be illuminated with the corrected image to give the 3D physical object the desired appearance under the virtual light when viewed from the user location.