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9
Image-Based
Rendering
Image-based rendering (IBR) techniques are a powerful alternative to tradi-
tional geometry-based techniques for creating images. Instead of using basic
geometric primitives, a collection of sample images are used to render novel
views.
In Chapter 5, we discussed these traditional techniques and looked
at how 3D scenes constructed from polygonal models were stored in data-
bases. Then, in Chapter 7, which explored the 3D rendering pipeline, we
made the implicit assumption that the view one sees in a 3D scene arises as
the result of rendering these polygonal models. And for the majority of VR
applications, this assumption is probably true. However, IBR offers us an
alternative way to set up and visualize a virtual world