One Shot 360-Degree Light Field Capture and Reconstruction with Depth Extraction Based on Optical Flow for Light Field Camera

A system for capturing 360-degree light field information of real-existing object in one shot and then optically reconstructing is proposed. A new depth extraction algorithm for light field cameras is proposed and various camera specifications for practical use of the algorithm are employed for the analysis. With a depth extraction method that was based on optical flow for light field camera, the depth information is extracted more accurately, according to the various specifications of light field camera. For 360-degree shooting, a simple capturing system composed of two mirrors and a light field camera is used. The capturing system has an advantage of being compact and inexpensive. The locations and orientations of the two mirrors are analyzed to optimize 360-degree light field recording. Holographic display is used to optically reconstruct the captured light field information. Experimental and simulation results are presented to support the proposed system and analysis.