Implementation of an interactive volume visualization system using commodity hardware

An implementation for a volume data visualization system is provided. User interaction occurs through a markerless planar surface onto which images from a dataset are projected. The surface is moved through an area of 3D space where camera and projector views intersect and have been calibrated to a world coordinate system. A 3D dataset is defined as residing in this space and cross sections of the dataset are projected onto the display surface based on the position of the surface in the dataset area. A robust estimation algorithm provides the location of the surface based on the acquired camera image and expected camera image. This represents an overall real-time image acquisition, processing and update feedback loop. Only commodity hardware is used to implement this system. Using a common digital video camera complicates the important task of image acquisition, delaying the calculation of estimates. A method to overcome crippling slowness due to DV camera acquisition is described.