Steve Mann

Abstract

Methods are proposed to record the way objects respond to varying illumination --- to capture and reproduce varying shadows and highlights and thus give the illusion that absent objects are present behind a ``window'' into which people may shine arbitrary lights of their choice. When the recording is viewed under two separate point sources, one sees a reproduction of the original scene with double shadows. When viewed outdoors, on an overcast day, one sees a reproduction of soft or almost non-existent shadows while the reproduction of the objects themselves remains sharply defined, regardless of the viewing illumination.