Stereoscopic Imaging has captivated the public since its inception in 1851. It is a wonderful and powerful visual illusion in which each eye sees a slightly different image. Our brain is tricked into believing that small lateral displacements in the position of objects imply depth. Although we know that the image we perceive is unreal, we find it to be fascinating.
Stereoscopic images provide spatial information that is often critical to many application domains such as medical imaging, surgery, geology, CAD, product design and tele-operation. The introduction of low cost, high quality digital video consumer products and the growing market for stereoscopic displays have opened new opportunities that were previously impossible or too costly to be implemented. The ability to apply enormous computing power to process streams of digital video data enable us to create new solutions and to create new systems. There are moments when new technologies open doors and enable us to make incredible advances: in the realm of stereoscopic imaging, that moment is now.
One focus of this course is to study human perception and thus to understand the mechanisms of the stereoscopic illusion. The course covers stereoscopic imaging from five perspectives: visual intelligence, digital imaging, human vision, film craft, and traditonal stereoscope. The course is somewhat non-traditional in the sense that you will learn by creating stereoscopic systems and images. You will create a short stereoscopic film (working in small teams) that will enable you to integrate the material you've learned in lectures to create stereoscopic films. We also cover a number of related areas: the technology of television with particular focus on digital video; image coding; color perception; and color reproduction.
Students who took this course last year rated it among their favorite courses in the computer science curriculum. They spent far more time on this course than they'd planned but also report enjoying the experience more than they expected. One of the project teams reported spending 1,000 minutes on each minute of the stereoscopic film they created! It was a fabulous film and has been entered into film competitions. Other teams managed to complete their projects in as little as two or three days. Even among those students who spent inordinate amounts of time did so willingly and eagerly, often complaining that they wish they could spend even more time in the lab. Stereoscopic Imaging can be addictive.
What's new and different______________________________________
What's new? -- New lectures! New projects! New and better equipment!
This year's lectures will take a different approach to the course material. Rather than treating Stereoscopic Imaging from five distinct perspectives, this year's lectures will integrate this material around a variety of themes and related questions: What are the limits of visual acuity? How is color perceived and processed? When is Now? We believe this will improve the integration of material and will provide a more comprehensive understanding of these topics. As such, the lectures have been re-designed and the slides will be posted each week after the lecture.
In general, the primary focus of this course is deeply tied to human perception. Stereoscopic imaging is a wonderful illusion. As such it requires that we understand this illusion. But to understand illusions one must first understand how we perceive the world. Illusions are interesting because they reveal those areas where our perception is not entirely consistent with reality. Perception is also fundamental to computer graphics, printing, imaging, human computer interface design and the development of man-machine interfaces. Perception includes all of our sensory modalities, not merely vision. In this course we will focus primarily on vision but will also include as many of the others as is possible.
We have also moved all of the material related to film making to the recitation sections. This will enable us to cover this material in more depth and will give us time to watch and study films. We will link film related material into theTuesday lectures, but these will serve to augment the lectures rather than be a primary focus of them.
We've also re-designed the projects for the course to provide a broader perspective and enhanced opportunities. We think you'll enjoy the new projects.
Last year we ended the semester by organizing a Student Film Festival that was held on July 1, 2004 with repeat performances on July 7th. An article about the films and course was published in ETH Life. A web version (and print version) are available from ETH Life or via the links on this page. We will do something similar this year.
One of the student projects from last year has been entered in a Film Festival Competition. We hope to provide similar opportunities for this year's student films.
Lecture__________________________________________
Tuesday 13:15 - 15:00 RZ F.21
Thursday 11:15 - 12:00 RZ F.21 (recitation session)
Faculty__________________________________________
Prof. Thomas Gross
Office hours: appointment via email (trg@inf.ethz.ch)
Dr. Cary Kornfeld
Office hours: appointment via email (ckornfel@inf.ethz.ch.)
Lecture__________________________________________
General information about the Stereoscopic Imaging lectures.
Tuesday 13:15 - 15:00 RZ bldg, room F.21Thursday 11:15 - 12:00/13:00 RZ bldg, room F.21
Calendar and Script Material________________________
Tentative schedule: (expect further refinements and changes)
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Material |
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1 |
29.3.2004 |
Tuesday |
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2 |
31.3.2004 |
Thursday |
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3 |
5.4.2004 |
Tuesday |
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4 |
7.4.2004 |
Thursday |
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5 |
12.4.2004 |
Tuesday |
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6 |
14.4.2004 |
Thursday |
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7 |
19.4.2004 |
Tuesday |
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8 |
21.4.2004 |
Thursday |
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9 |
26.4.2004 |
Tuesday |
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10 |
28.4.2004 |
Thursday |
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11 |
3.5.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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12 |
5.5.2004 |
Thursday |
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13 |
10.5.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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14 |
12.5.2004 |
Thursday |
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15 |
17.5.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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16 |
19.5.2004 |
Thursday |
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17 |
24.5.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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18 |
26.5.2004 |
Thursday |
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19 |
31.5.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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20 |
2.6.2004 |
Thursday |
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21 |
7.6.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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22 |
9.6.2004 |
Thursday |
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23. |
14.6.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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24 |
16.6.2004 |
Thursday |
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25. |
21.6.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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26 |
23.6.2004 |
Thursday |
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27 |
28.6.2004 |
Tuesday |
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to be posted |
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28 |
30.6.2004 |
Thursday |
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to be determined |
Projects_________________________________________
The projects for this course are intended to provide students with practical hands on experience in the shooting, creation, editing and presentation of stereoscopic videos.
Project 1: Create a 2 minute Stereoscopic Video using the lab's facilities. This should consist of at least 4 different shots that are edited together. Project Team's of two persons.
Project 2: Modify the footage from Project 1 using a selection of different scene transitions and applying a variety of image processing techniques to the footage.
Project 3: Devise an experimental procedure to determine the parameters for capturing depth using parallel optical camera system. This should include the impact of the separation between the optical axis of each camera, the zoom setting for the lenses and the depth distance that can be perceived by a viewer. Using your procedure conduct a series of measurements, capturing stereoscopic footage to demonstrate these parameters and relationships.
Project 4: Working in small groups, create a component (either software or hardware) to be used in a new image capture or display system. For example: add enhancements to a basic 3D video player such as the ability to play backward, to capture thumbnails, create thumbnail pointers into the video file, create a system for lighting scenes, create a rolling tripod mount for stereoscopic cameras, etc.
Project 5: Working in groups of 6-8 people, create a ~10 minute stereoscopic "film" based on an interesting story. A storyboard MUST be created before any footage is shot. The film must have a sound track and sound effects. The film must have titles. The subject matter can vary widely from entertainment based (a story for example) to an educational production or the capture of scientifically interesting images (e.g. time lapse imagery of crystal growth, of a plant growing from seedling to flower, etc.). The project must include
a variety of shots, the creation of a unifying sound track, titles and credits,
and must follow generally accepted guidelines of film production.
Grading_________________________________________
Grading for the course will be based on the projects created by each student. The first three projects will constitute 60 percent of the course grade. The final project will constitute 40 percent of the course grade. Individual interviews with the course instructors will be conducted at the completion of the course to discuss the final project. In addition, the final projects will be shown to audience of interested students in the format of a film festival. The attendees will vote on their favorite films. These votes will be considered in the evaluation of the final project.
Our goal is to encourage students to have fun creating these video productions. These projects enable you to practice what you've learned and to provide an opportunity for creative expression.
The instructors will be available for hands on demonstration and coaching extensively throughout the course. Our intent is to create a course that is both enjoyable and instructive. If you make a sincere effort in this course your grade will reflect your efforts.
Special projects can be undertaken that can provide additional credit and may enhance your grade in the course. Alternatively, additional course credits may be given. Students who show exceptional interest and ability are encouraged to become engaged in some of the research activities that will be conducted in association with the course.