Real-time volumetric visualization of 2-D images

1. A method for capturing and visualizing video, comprising:

capturing video data using a plurality of 2-D cameras, each camera including an optical center and a focal length, wherein the video data includes a plurality of 2-D images;

sending the captured video data to a first shader;

calculating depth information at the first shader using the plurality of 2-D images,

wherein the depth information is calculated by (a) establishing a base line between optical centers of a pair of 2-D cameras, (b) calculating a camera distance between the optical centers of the pair of 2-D cameras, (c) determining a shortest distance from a point on the base line to a focal point of each of the plurality of 2-D images, and (d) taking a product of the camera distance with the focal length and dividing the product by the shortest distance;

generating a three-dimensional (3-D) point cloud using the depth information and applying color to the 3-D point cloud; and

rendering a visualization image using the 3-D point cloud.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein rendering the visualization image includes presenting the visualization image in a 3-D environment.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising

calculating camera lenses to account for lens distortions.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first shader is a compute shader.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of 2-D cameras comprises at least one IR camera and at least one color camera.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the captured video data includes a plurality of IR images.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising

inputting the depth information and the at least one color image to a second shader.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising

asynchronously applying, by the second shader, color information from the at least one color image to associated points in the 3-D point cloud.

9. A system to capture and visualize video, the system comprising:

a plurality of 2-D cameras to capture video data including a plurality of 2-D images,

wherein each 2-D camera includes an optical center and a focal length;

a first compute shader to receive the video data and calculate depth information using the plurality of 2-D images, the first compute shader to generate a 2-D depth buffer using the depth information,

wherein the depth information is calculated by (a) establishing a base line between optical centers of a pair of 2-D cameras, (b) calculating a camera distance between the optical centers of the pair of 2-D cameras, (c) determining a shortest distance from a point on the base line to a focal point of each of the plurality of 2-D images, and (d) taking a product of the camera distance with the focal length and dividing the product by the shortest distance; and

a renderer to render a visualization image of a 3-D point cloud using the 2-D depth buffer and applying color to the 3-D point cloud.

10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising

a display to present the visualization image in a 3-D environment.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of 2-D cameras comprises at least one IR camera and at least one color camera.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the captured video data includes a plurality of IR images.

13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising

a second compute shader to receive the generated 2-D depth buffer and the at least one color image, generate the 3-D point cloud from the 2-D depth buffer, and asynchronously apply color from the at least one color image to associated points in the 3-D point cloud.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program to capture and visualize video, the computer program comprising executable instructions that cause a computer to:

capture video data using a plurality of 2-D cameras, wherein each camera includes an optical center and a focal length, wherein the video data includes a plurality of 2-D images;

send the captured video data to a first shader;

calculate depth information at the first shader using the plurality of 2-D images,

wherein the depth information is calculated by (a) establishing a base line between optical centers of a pair of 2-D cameras, (b) calculating a camera distance between the optical centers of the pair of 2-D cameras, (c) determining a shortest distance from a point on the base line to a focal point of each of the plurality of 2-D images, and (d) taking a product of the camera distance with the focal length and dividing the product by the shortest distance;

generate a 3-D point cloud using the depth information and apply color to the 3-D point cloud; and

render a visualization image using the 3-D point cloud.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer to render the visualization image include executable instructions that cause the computer to present the visualization image in a 3-D environment.