A Viscosity Solutions Approach to Shape-From-Shading
Elisabeth Rouy, Agnès Tourin · SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis · 1992
The problem of recovering a Lambertian surface from a single two-dimensional image may be written as a first-order nonlinear equation which presents the disadvantage of having several continuous and even smooth solutions. A new approach based on Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equations and viscosity solutions theories enables one to study non-uniqueness phenomenon and thus to characterize the surface among the various solutions. A consistent and monotone scheme approximating the surface is constructed thanks to the dynamic programming principle, and numerical results are presented.