Method and apparatus for creating a white-light interference hologram from PC input photographic data

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What is claimed is: 1.
A system for producing a white-light interference hologram, comprising: a camera adapted for recording a first and a second bitmap image of a scene from separate vantage points, and the separation distance of the vantage points; a computing engine adapted to compute three-dimensional x, y, and z characteristics of an interference hologram topology for the scene from the bitmap images and separation data, wherein x and y are two dimensional locations of bits in a bitmap of the topology and z is a depth dimension for each x,y bit; and a printer adapted to print in color the x,y bitmap of the topology, and to create the depth dimension z at each x,y bit location, providing thereby a three-dimensional interference hologram topology for the scene.




Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is in the field of digital photography and printing, and pertains more particularly to a method and apparatus for digital photography, and use of the photographic data for creating interference holograms using printing apparatus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Rendering 3-dimensional (3-D) graphics on a 2-dimensional plane such as a computer monitor screen has been an emerging technology marked with many advances.
For example, with the use of special 3-D cards and adapters, a 3-dimensional object may be created from dimensional information provided of the form of input to a computer system running appropriate software.
After calculating input data, the computer system renders a simulated 3-D image on its 2-dimensional screen.
A viewer may use special goggles to view 3-D images on a computer screen or other two-dimensional apparatus such as on a movie screen.
In another aspect of the art, hologram techniques are also used to produce 3-D effects on plastic cards and the like.
Such holograms are familiar to many as embossed on such as credit cards.
This sort of hologram is called a white-light-interference hologram, and is created through a reflective surface having a relatively complicated topology that reflects white light in a manner to produce interference patterns that the human eye sees as a 3-D image