Surface normal reconstruction using circularly polarized light

The polarization properties of reflected light capture important information about the object's inherent properties: material composition, i.e. index of refraction and scattering properties, and shape of the object, i.e. surface normal. Polarization information therefore has been used for surface reconstruction using a single-view camera with unpolarized incident light. However, this surface normal reconstruction technique suffers from a zenith angle ambiguity. In this paper, we have utilized circularly polarized light to solve for the zenith ambiguity by developing a detailed model using Mueller matrix formulism and division of focal plane polarization imaging technology. Experiment results validate our model for accurate surface reconstruction. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America