ABSTRACT
In the broadest sense, image-based rendering (IBR) refers to any rendering method that depends on existing images. However, in recent years, the term has come to refer to the particular problem of recovering the appearance of an object or environment from an arbitrary viewpoint using a collection of acquired images. These images might be rendered images themselves, but usually they come from photographs. One application of IBR is the creation of virtual walk-throughs of real environments. Another is to accelerate production of animated films by creating “in-between” frames from fully rendered frames, which is useful when full rendering is costly. This chapter introduces the fundamental concepts of image-based rendering and then describes some representative IBR techniques.
