A Distortion Camera For Ray Tracing

Abstract

Ray tracing is a powerful technique for realistic image generation. Typically a simple camera definition is used, whereby a 3D environment is mapped onto an image plane either by an orthographic or perspective projection. The concept of the usual simple camera definition is extended in several ways to achieve distorted views or projections of the object scene. The origins of primary rays are not required to lie on a plane anymore. Thus projections onto curved image surfaces are possible. The directions of primary rays may be chosen according to various nonlinear functions that allow nonstandard projections of the environment. The concept of centers of interest (coins)is introduced which enables to concentrate on especially interesting portions of object space. A center of interest is a 3D position that either distorts (attracts) a portion of the image surface or locally influences the directions of primary rays. The results of a test implementation are presented to show the feasibility of the methods presented. Several applications of distorted images are: creating elemental holographic images and raster omnimax images, virtual reality and arts.