KNOWLEDGE-BASED SHAPE-FROM-SHADING

In this paper, we study the problem of recovering approximate shape from the shading of a three-dimensional object in a single image when knowledge about the object is available. The application of knowledge-based methods to low-level image processing tasks will help overcome problems that arise from processing images using a pixel-based approach. Shape-from-shading has generally been approached by precognitive vision methods where a standard operator is applied to the image based on assumptions about the imaging process and generic properties of what appears. This paper explores some advantages of applying knowledge and hypotheses about what appears in the image. The knowledge and hypotheses used here come from domain knowledge and edge-matching. Specifically, we are able to find solutions to some problems that cannot be solved by other methods and gain advantages in terms of computation speed over similar approaches. Further, we can fully automate the derivation of the approximate shape of an object. This paper demonstrates the efficacy of using knowledge in the basic operation of an early vision operator, and so introduces a new paradigm for computer vision that may be applied to other early vision operators.