INTRODUCTION - Fundamentals of Three-Dimensional Digital Image Processing - page 12

Fig. 1.3. Example of a 3D image. Surface of a sample of a VLSI observed by a
confocal microscope [Ichikawa96].
1.3 Types and characteristics of 3D image processing
1.3.1 Examples of 3D image processing
Taking “3D image” in its meaning as described above, then “3D image pro-
cessing” will mean the process of creation, display, transmission, identification,
etc., of such a 3D image. The following are a few examples.
(a) Processing of true 3D images
This is literal 3D image processing and refers to all processing performed on
true 3D images, especially to their display,measurement,identification,and
understanding. This type of processing is the main focus of this topic.
(b) Comprehension of 3D objects and 3D scenes
This refers to making computers identify and comprehend the state of 3D
objects and scenes on the basis of a single or relatively small number of 2D
images. When doing so, cues such as those described in Section 1.2.3 are uti-
lized. As described previously, this is a core theme in the field of computer
vision. Unless otherwise specified, this is often what the phrase “3D process-
ing” refers to [Watt98, Kanatani90, Horn86].
(c) Creation and display of semi-3D images in 2D
This refers to the display (rendering) of an image that appears to the human
eye to be in 3D (i.e., types (2) and (3) in Section 1.2.2 above) on a 2D screen