The "DIY black dome" object mentioned briefly in the article is used to create "polynomial texture map" images. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a very cool t

The "DIY black dome" object mentioned briefly in the article is used to create "polynomial texture map" images. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a very cool technique. http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/ptm/ http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/ptm/ has details, but in brief: an object is photographed multiple times from one camera position but multiple lighting positions. Software can then programmatically interpolate to how the image would look from all lighting positions. It's a way to improve on basic texture-mapping for games, of course, but it's mostly proving useful in archaeology, allowing more people to interact virtually with precious objects. PTM images can also be provide "impossible" views of objects -- e.g. giving every pixel a different lighting angle so as to maximize contrast.