Texture sensing

1. A device for modeling a texture associated with a surface, comprising:

a plurality of image sensors; and

a processor adapted to execute computer implemented instructions to:

capture a set of images of the surface with one or more of the plurality of image sensors;

analyze the set of captured images to determine one or more surface variables, the one or more surface variables comprising a frequency of vertical displacement in a first dimension and a second dimension; and

convert the analyzed set of captured images into a surface texture type based on the one or more surface variables.

2. The device of claim 1 , the one or more surface variables further comprising an amplitude of displacement in a third dimension and sharpness.

3. The device of claim 1 , the one or more surface variables further comprising an amplitude of displacement in the first or second dimension.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further adapted to execute computer implemented instructions to correlate at least a portion of the set of captured images with at least a portion of a previous set of captured images of the surface.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the set of captured images to determine one or more surface variables and converting the analyzed set of captured images into a surface texture type comprises:

modeling a texture of the surface based on the one or more surface variables; and

converting the modeled texture into a surface texture type.

6. The device of claim 5 :

wherein reference texture data is accessible to the processor; and

wherein the modeled surface texture is converted into a type of surface texture based on a comparison with the reference texture data.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the modeled surface texture is compared with the reference texture data to determine a known surface texture type that is most similar to the modeled surface texture.

8. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a housing, wherein the housing is configured such that the texture modeling device is a handheld device.

9. The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of image sensors are positioned on the housing at angles with respect to one another.

10. A method for modeling a texture of a surface using a hand-held device that includes a housing and a plurality of image sensors, the method comprising:

capturing a set of images of the surface with at least a portion of the plurality of image sensors;

analyzing the set of captured images to determine one or more surface variables, the one or more surface variables comprising a frequency of vertical displacement in a first dimension and a second dimension; and

converting the analyzed set of captured images into a surface texture type based on the one or more surface variables.

11. The method of claim 10 , the one or more surface variables further comprising an amplitude of displacement in a third dimension and sharpness.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising correlating at least a portion of the set of captured images with at least a portion of a previous set of captured images of the surface.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein analyzing the set of captured images to determine one or more surface variables and converting the analyzed set of captured images into a surface texture type comprises:

modeling a texture of the surface based on the one or more surface variables; and

converting the modeled texture into a surface texture type.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein reference texture data is stored to data storage; and wherein the modeled surface texture is converted into a type of surface texture based on a comparison with the reference texture data.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the modeled surface texture is compared with the reference texture data to determine a known surface texture type that is most similar to the modeled surface texture.

16. Digital storage media having code provided thereon for programming one or more processors to perform a procedure for modeling a surface texture using a device comprising a housing and a plurality of image sensors, wherein the procedure comprises:

capturing a set of images of the surface with one or more of the plurality of image sensors;

analyzing the set of captured images to determine one or more surface variables, the one or more surface variables comprising a frequency of vertical displacement in a first dimension and a second dimension; and

converting the analyzed set of captured images into a surface texture type based on the one or more surface variables.

17. The digital storage media of claim 16 , the one or more surface variables further comprising an amplitude of displacement in a third dimension and sharpness.

18. The digital storage media of claim 16 , wherein analyzing the set of captured images to determine one or more surface variables and converting the analyzed set of captured images into a surface texture type comprises:

modeling a texture of the surface based on the one or more surface variables; and

converting the modeled texture into a surface texture type.

19. The digital storage media of claim 18 , wherein reference texture data is stored to data storage; and wherein the modeled surface texture is converted into a type of surface texture based on a comparison with the reference texture data.

20. The digital storage media of claim 19 , wherein the modeled surface texture is compared with the reference texture data to determine a known surface texture type that is most similar to the modeled surface texture.