Image-based texture analysis for realistic image synthesis

We present a method to measure reflectance and texture of surfaces in a one step process. For later use in digital image synthesis, it is mandatory to separate the gathered intensity values into these two parts to eliminate highlighting artifacts from textures. Our image based measurement system delivers bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) values distributed over the surface of the material under investigation. After fitting a reflectance model to the gathered data, we estimate the modulation of the diffuse reflectance coefficient which represents the texture. The last step analyzes the texture to get a parameterized and compact description of the measured surface properties. These results allow us to apply the gathered surface properties to objects with arbitrary shape and size. To keep the measurement system simple, a standard CCD camera and light source are used