Episode description

Using math to improve photographs, with expert guest Gordon Wetzstein. Such methods have exploded in recent years and have wide-ranging impacts from improving your family photos, to making self-driving cars safer, to building ever-more-powerful microscopes. Somewhere in between hardware and software, he says, is the field of computational imaging, which makes cameras do some pretty amazing things. Wetzstein and host Russ Altman bring it all into focus on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Connect With Us:

• Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
• Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon
• Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introductions 

Host Russ Altman introduces the guest, Gordon Wetzstein as well as the concept of non-line-of-sight imaging.

(00:02:58) Computational Imaging 

Gordon Wetzstein explains the concept of computational imaging and the way it integrates hardware and software for optimal image capture.

(00:04:22) High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging  & Focal Stacking

An explanation of what HDR is and how it captures high-contrast scenes, and the similar process of focal stacking, using multiple images to create depth. 

(00:09:56) Non-Line-of-Sight Imaging 

(00:15:51) Optical Computing: Extending Hardware Capabilities 

Insights into optical computing, explaining how specially designed hardware can preprocess data for AI algorithms.

(00:18:08) Applications of Optical Computing

Exploration of applications for optical computing in power constraint systems and increased efficiency in data centers.

(00:23:07) The Intersection of AI, Physics, and Computer Graphics 

Synergy between AI, physics, and computer graphics in creating 3D content and models. 

(00:25:47) Generative AI to Create 3D from 2D

Exploring the challenge of generating 3D digital humans from unstructured 2D images using algorithms

(00:32:02) Challenges & Advancements in VR and AR Design 

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon

Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook