A hybrid approach for computing visual hulls of complex objects

This paper addresses the problem of computing visual hulls from image contours. We propose a new hybrid approach, which overcomes the precision-complexity trade-off inherent to voxel based approaches by taking advantage of surface based approaches. To this aim, we introduce a space discretization, which does not rely on a regular grid where most cells are ineffective, but rather on an irregular grid where sample points lie on the surface of the visual hull. Such a grid is composed of tetrahedral cells obtained by applying a Delaunay triangulation on the sample points. These cells are carved afterward according to image silhouette information. The proposed approach keeps the robustness of volumetric approaches while drastically improving their precision and reducing their time and space complexities. It thus allows modeling of objects with complex geometry, and it also makes real time feasible for precise models. Preliminary results with synthetic and real data are presented.