Estimation of surface orientation from a single image

grantor: University of TorontoIt is known that perspective projection plays an important role in the human visual system. It enables an observer to obtain relevant information about the 3D structure of the world even when stereographic and focusing information are unavailable or of little use given the scale of the structures in the image. This thesis explores the determination of surface orientation from a single view using the perspective information provided by the orientation of line segments present in the image. The issues addressed are the extraction of relevant features, the extraction of the perspective information that encodes the orientation of planar surfaces, and the grouping of features into areas which have a consistent orientation. Experimental results in real world images are presented and possible extensions to this work are discussed.M.Sc