Surface expansion from range data sequences

We compute the range flow field, i.e. the 3D velocity field, of a moving deformable surface from a sequence of range data. This is done in a differential framework for which we derive a new constraint equation that can be evaluated directly on the sensor data grid. It is shown how 3D structure and intensity information can be used together in the estimation process. We then introduce a method to compute surface expansion rates from the now available velocity field. The accuracy of the proposed scheme is assessed on a synthetic data set. Finally we apply the algorithm to study 3D leaf motion and growth on a real range sequence.

LNCS 2191