3D visual reconstruction of large scale natural sites and their fauna

The European DHX project is introduced in this paper and the vision-based 3D content authoring tools that have been implemented as a core part of its framework are presented. These tools consist mainly of two interrelated components. The first one is a hybrid (geometry and image based) modeling and rendering system capable of providing photorealistic walkthroughs of real-world large landscapes based solely on a sparse set of stereoscopic views. The second one deals with obtaining lifelike animal motion using as input captured video sequences of animal movement and prior anatomy knowledge. Both of these components have been successfully applied to a DHX research prototype aiming to create an integrated virtualized representation of the Samaria Gorge in Crete and the principal animals living in the ecosystem.