Abstract

This paper presents the V2R algorithm, a novel method for multiple light source detection using a Lambertian sphere as a calibration object. The algorithm segments the image of the sphere into regions that are each illuminated by a single virtual light and subtracts the virtual lights of adjacent regions to estimate the light source vectors. The algorithm uses all pixels within a region to form a robust estimate of the corresponding virtual light. The circumstances under which the light source detection problem lacks a unique solution are discussed in detail and the way in which the V2R algorithm resolves the ambiguity is explained. The V2R algorithm includes novel procedures for identifying the critical lines that bound the regions, for estimating the light source vectors, and for identifying opposite light pairs. Experiments are performed on synthetic and real images and the performance of the V2R algorithm is compared to that of a recent algorithm from the literature. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is robust and that it gives substantially improved accuracy.