Automatic Light Scene Setting Through Image-Based Sparse Light Effect Approximation

• Published in: IEEE transactions on multimedia 2012-08, Vol.14 (4), p.1351-1358
• Main Authors: Gritti, T., Monaci, G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithmics. Computability. Computer arithmetics; Applied sciences; Artificial intelligence; Atmosphere; Calibration; Cameras; Computer science; control theory; systems; Exact sciences and technology; Image color analysis; Light atmosphere creation; Light sources; Lighting; lighting design; Pattern recognition. Digital image processing. Computational geometry; Rendering (computer graphics); scene understanding; sparse image approximation; Theoretical computing
• ISSN: 1520-9210; 1941-0077
• DOI: 10.1109/TMM.2012.2191271

Recently a series of key factors are deeply transforming lighting systems. Single lights can be controlled individually and with advanced rendering capabilities. Furthermore, a shift is underway from independent light sources to integrated lighting installations. These factors fuel the need for intuitive, flexible control techniques that can fully exploit the rendering capabilities of a lighting infrastructure. In this paper, we present a novel framework to automatically create lighting atmospheres in any type of environment. The desired light settings are derived by approximation of user-defined input images or videos. This input modality gives an immediate and intuitive representation of a lighting atmosphere and allows the user to translate into a light setting any visual content. The effectiveness and versatility of the proposed solution is demonstrated and discussed by deploying the system in several challenging, real-life application scenarios.