Nonlinear projection: using deformations in 3D viewing

But what if you need to generate distorted views? For example, we see a distorted environment when we look through a raindrop on a windshield. When we play computer games, we also might want to have a pair of “magic” lenses that let us see a deformed virtual world. In this article, we present techniques for achieving nonlinear projections and distortions and use these techniques to generate distorted panorama and fish-eye virtual views, environmental texture mapping, and other special visual effects. Past experiments on nonlinear distortions primarily focused on 2D distortion or abstract mathematical camera models for noninteractive raytracing.1–5 We developed and tested an experimental system based on these methods that lets you navigate a 3D virtual world with nonlinear perspective projection in real time. Our methods have many applications in conceptual design, computer games, and scientific visualization.