EventPS: Real-Time Photometric Stereo Using an Event Camera

Bohan Yu, Jieji Ren, Jin Han, Feishi Wang, Jinxiu Liang, Boxin Shi

Abstract: Photometric stereo is a well-established technique to es-timate the surface normal of an object. However, the re-quirement of capturing multiple high dynamic range images under different illumination conditions limits the speed and real-time applications. This paper introduces EventPS, a novel approach to real-time photometric stereo using an event camera. Capitalizing on the exceptional temporal resolution, dynamic range, and low bandwidth character-istics of event cameras, EventPS estimates surface nor-mal only from the radiance changes, significantly enhancing data efficiency. EventPS seamlessly integrates with both optimization-based and deep-learning-based photo-metric stereo techniques to offer a robust solution for non-Lambertian surfaces. Extensive experiments validate the effectiveness and efficiency of EventPS compared to frame-based counterparts. Our algorithm runs at over 30 fps in real-world scenarios, unleashing the potential of EventPS in time-sensitive and high-speed downstream applications. 1 1 Code available: https://codeberg.org/ybh1998/EventPS