Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)
RTI is a method of computational photography that captures a huge set of images (a dataset) under different lighting conditions. Freely available computer software algorithms compare and analyze these images to provide new insights. As new algorithms emerge in the future, so too will new views of objects emerge from the datasets captured today. RTI is a low-risk, high-yield imaging technique, the results of which increase in yield (and therefore value) over time.
After all the images are captured and prepared and the number-crunching is finished, freely-available software can be used to examine the image in a huge variety of different ways.
After RTI images are captured and data analyzed, the resulting RTI image can be manipulated in a variety of techniques
3 views of the same portion of the same item, revealing different surface details