Date:    Thu, 4 May 2000 20:42:58 -0400 (EDT)
From:    Colin Godfrey <cgodfrey@cs.umb.edu>
Subject: Digital Imaging talk at MERL, 11:30 am Thursday May 11

               The Digital Michelangelo Project

                   Professor Marc Levoy
                 Computer Science Department
                    Stanford University

Speaker: Professor Marc Levoy, Stanford University
When:    Thursday, May 11, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Where:   Tohei Nitta Seminar Room,
         Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory (MERL)
         8th Floor, 201 Broadway, Cambridge, MA

Recent improvements in laser rangefinder technology, together with
algorithms developed in our research group for combining multiple
range images, allow us to reliably and accurately digitize the
external shape of many physical objects.  As an application of
this technology, I and a team of 30 faculty, staff, and students from
Stanford University and the University of Washington spent the 1998-99
academic year in Italy digitizing the sculptures and architecture of
Michelangelo.

Our primary acquisition device was a laser triangulation rangefinder
mounted on a large motorized gantry.  Using this device and a
smaller rangefinder mounted on a jointed digitizing arm, we created 3D
computer models of 10 statues, including the David. These models
range in size from 100 million to 2 billion polygons. Using a
time-of-flight rangefinder, we also created 3D computer models of the
interiors of two museums, including Michelangelo's Medici Chapel.
Finally, using our rangefinders in conjunction with a high-resolution
digital color camera, we created a light field and aligned 3D computer
model of Michelangelo's highly polished statue of Night. A light
field is a dense array of images viewable using new techniques from
image-based rendering.

As a side project, we also scanned all 1,163 fragments of the Forma
Urbis Romae, the giant marble map of ancient Rome carved circa 200 A.D.
Piecing this map together has been one of the great unsolved problems
of archeology. Our hope is that by scanning the fragments and
searching among the resulting geometric models for matching surfaces,
we can find new matches among the fragments.  In this talk, I will
outline the technological underpinings, logistical challenges, and
possible outcomes of this project.


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