# Reconstructing Position from Linear Depth

This post discusses how to reconstruct a pixel's view-space position from a linear depth buffer using two different methods. I assume you know what a G-buffer is and have a basic understanding of the OpenGL pipeline.

## Notation

The notation used in the following sections is as follows:

• $\vec{p}$ - a point in view space.
• $\vec{p}_{clip}$ - a point in clip space ($x,y,z \in [-w,w]^3$).
• $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ - a point in NDC space ($x,y \in [-1,1]^2$).
• $\vec{p}_{tex}$ - a point in texture space ($x,y \in [0,1]^2$).
• fovy = camera's vertical field of view angle
• r = camera's aspect ratio
• n = camera's near plane
• f = camera's far plane

## Generating a Linear Depth Buffer

To generate a linear depth buffer, divide view space $z$ by the camera's far plane value to obtain a linear depth value in $[0,1]$. Note that in a right-handed coordinate system, $z$ is negative in view space for points in front of the camera, so we negate $z$ to leave the resulting depth value in the positive $[0,1]$ range:

uniform mat4  Modelview;
uniform mat4  Projection;
uniform float Far;

layout (location = 0) in vec3 Position;

out float Depth;

void main()
{
vec4 p = Modelview * vec4(Position, 1.0);
Depth = -p.z/Far; // z is negative in view space, negate to leave in [0,1]
gl_Position = Projection * p;
}


in float Depth;

layout (location = 0) out float FragDepth;

void main()
{
FragDepth = Depth;
}


The next two sections discuss how to reconstruct the 3D position of a fragment from the value stored in the depth buffer.

## Method 1: Unprojection Using Similar Triangles

Consider the following figure of a view frustum seen from the top:

Our goal is to reconstruct the view-space point $\vec{p} = \begin{bmatrix}p_x & p_y & p_z\end{bmatrix}^T$.

$p_z$ can be computed straight away from the camera's far plane and the depth buffer. The depth buffer stores the value

$$d = \frac{-p_z}{f}$$

therefore

$$p_z = -d \, f$$

To compute $p_x$ and $p_y$, let $\vec{p}_N = \begin{bmatrix}x_N & y_N & -n\end{bmatrix}^T$ be the projection of $\vec{p}$ onto the camera's near plane. From the figure, we can see that similar triangles give us the relation

$$\frac{p_x}{p_z} = \frac{x_N}{-n}$$

Solving for $p_x$ yields

$$p_x = \frac{p_z \; x_N}{-n}$$

The case for $p_y$ is similar (figure omitted):

$$\frac{p_y}{p_z} = \frac{y_N}{-n} \; \Leftrightarrow \; p_y = \frac{p_z \; y_N}{-n}$$

This deals with $\vec{p}$. Deriving $\vec{p}_{N}$ is relatively straightforward with the aid of the following figure:

Note that in NDC space, the fragment's coordinates $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ fall in the range $[-1,1]$. In view space, the $x$ and $y$ coordinates of $\vec{p}_{N}$ fall in the range $[-R,R]$ and $[-T,T]$, respectively, where R and T are the view frustum's right and top values. Here we assume that the view frustum is symmetrical: the left value is $-R$ and the bottom value is $-T$. To obtain $\vec{p}_{N}$, then, simply scale $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ by the frustum's right and top values:

$$\vec{p}_{N} = \vec{p}_{ndc} \, \begin{bmatrix}R & T\end{bmatrix}^T$$

If you are building the camera's projection matrix by specifying the view frustum's dimensions directly as in a call to glFrustum, then you are done, since $R$ and $T$ are known. However, if you are building the projection matrix by specifying the camera's vertical field of view angle, aspect ratio and near and far planes as in a call to gluPerspective, then you need to derive these values from the ones given.

To find $R$ and $T$ in this latter case, consider the following two figures of a view frustum seen from the top and side, respectively, showing the frustum's near and projection planes as well as the different quantities associated with them - the frustum's right value $R$, top $T$, near $n$, distance to projection plane $d$, and aspect ratio $r$:

The projection plane here is completely arbitrary. We choose one with a convenient height of $2$ ($1$ from the center to the top) to simplify the maths.

Applying right triangles once again on the right figure gives us

$$\frac{T}{n} = \frac{1}{d} \Leftrightarrow T = \frac{n}{d}$$

The left figure gives us

$$\frac{R}{n} = \frac{r}{d} \Leftrightarrow R = \frac{rn}{d} = rT$$

The distance to the projection plane can be solved using basic trigonometry:

$$tan \left( \frac{fovy}{2} \right) = \frac{1}{d} \Leftrightarrow d = cot \left( \frac{fovy}{2} \right)$$

Finally, we can simplify the expression for $T$ by subtituting $d$ into the equation:

\begin{align} T &= \frac{n}{d} \\ &= \frac{n}{cot \left( \frac{fovy}{2} \right)} \\ &= n \, tan \left( \frac{fovy}{2} \right) \end{align}

CPU Code

float T = n * tan(0.5*fovy); // fovy must be in radians
float R = r*T;


uniform vec2 RightTop; // vec2(R,T), where R and T are computed as shown above
uniform float Near;
uniform float Far;

vec3 unproject (vec2 tex, float d)
{
vec2 ndc = tex*2.0 - 1.0;
vec2 pnear = ndc * RightTop;
float pz = -d*Far;
return vec3(-pz*pnear.x / Near, -pz*pnear.y / Near, pz);
}


## Method 2: Unprojection Using the Projection Matrix Inverse

Another method to unproject a point from texture space back to view space is by using the inverse of the projection matrix. This method requires us to first revisit the OpenGL pipeline involved in mapping a point from view space to texture space.

Pipeline Overview: From View to Texture Space

A point $\vec{p}$ in view space is transformed to texture space by applying the following transformations:

1. Projection: multiply $[\vec{p},1]$ by the projection matrix to obtain point $\vec{p}_{clip}$ in clip space.

2. Perspective division: divide $\vec{p}_{clip}$ by $p_{clip}^w = -p_z$ to obtain point $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ in normalised device coordinates.

3. Normalisation: map $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ from NDC space to texture space (from $[-1,1]^2$ to $[0,1]^2$, discarding $z$ and $w$) by defining $\vec{p}_{tex} = \frac{\vec{p}_{ndc}}{2} + \frac{1}{2}$.

By texture space, we mean the space of normalised texture coordinates - texture coordinates lying in the $[0,1]^2$ range. In the original OpenGL pipeline, a point $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ in NDC space is mapped to the viewport by applying a viewport matrix. In our case, however, the viewport is irrelevant. Instead, we map points from NDC space to texure space so that we can then use the resulting coordinates to fetch data from a G-buffer.

Step 1: Projection

A perspective projection matrix is given by

$$P = \begin{bmatrix} \frac{c}{r} & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & c & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & \frac{f+n}{n-f} & \frac{2fn}{n-f} \\ 0 & 0 & -1 & 0 \end{bmatrix}$$

where

• $c = cot\left(\frac{\mbox{fovy}}{2}\right)$
• fovy = vertical field of view angle
• r = aspect ratio
• n = near plane
• f = far plane

A point $\vec{p}$ is transformed from view space to clip space by multiplying the point by the projection matrix:

$$\vec{p}_{clip} = P \, \vec{p} = \begin{bmatrix} \frac{c}{r} & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & c & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & \frac{f+n}{n-f} & \frac{2fn}{n-f} \\ 0 & 0 & -1 & 0 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix}p_x \\ p_y \\ p_z \\ 1\end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix}\frac{c}{r}p_x \\ cp_y \\ Ap_z + B \\ -p_z\end{bmatrix}$$

where

\begin{align} A &= \frac{f+n}{n-f} \\ \\ B &= \frac{2fn}{n-f} \end{align}

In clip space, a point's $x$, $y$ and $z$ coordinates lie in the range $[-w,w]$.

Step 2: Perspective division

The resulting point $\vec{p}_{clip}$ is mapped from clip space to NDC space by performing perspective division, dividing $\vec{p}_{clip}$ by $p_{clip}^w = -p_z$:

\begin{align} \vec{p}_{ndc} &= \frac{\vec{p}_{clip}}{p_{clip}^w} \\ &= \frac{\vec{p}_{clip}}{-p_z} \\ &= \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{c}{rz}p_x & -\frac{c}{z}p_y & -A - \frac{B}{p_z} & 1\end{bmatrix}^T \end{align}

In NDC space, a point's $x$, $y$ and $z$ coordinates lie in the range $[-1,1]$.

Step 3: Normalisation

Finally, the point is mapped from NDC space to texture space by applying a simple scaling and translation, discarding the point's $z$ and $w$ components in the process:

$$\vec{p}_{tex} = \frac{\vec{p}_{ndc}}{2} + \frac{1}{2}$$

In texture space, a point's $x$, $y$ and $z$ coordinates lie in the range $[0,1]$.

Unprojection

To unproject a point from texture space to view space using the inverse projection matrix, we perform the following three steps:

1. Map input fragment from texture space to NDC space.
2. Apply inverse projection matrix to obtain ray passing through point to be reconstructed.
3. Scale ray to obtain the actual point.

Step 1: Texture space to NDC space

Given $\vec{p}_{tex}$, transform the point to NDC space:

$$\vec{p}_{ndc} = 2\vec{p}_{tex} - 1$$

From the review section above, we have that $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ in homogeneous coordinates is given by

$$\vec{p}_{ndc} = \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{c}{rz}p_x & -\frac{c}{z}p_y & -A - \frac{B}{p_z} & 1\end{bmatrix}^T$$

where

• $c = cot\left(\frac{\mbox{fovy}}{2}\right)$
• $r$ = aspect ratio
• $A = \frac{f+n}{n-f}$
• $B = \frac{2fn}{n-f}$

so when we map $\vec{p}_{tex}$ to $\vec{p}_{ndc}$, we actually get

$$\vec{p}_{ndc} = 2\vec{p}_{tex} - 1 = \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{c}{rz}p_x & -\frac{c}{z}p_y\end{bmatrix}^T$$

The $z$ and $w$ components of $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ are unknown at this point, since all the work we have done here is in 2D.

Step 2: Unproject NDC point to obtain ray through view space point

Next, obtain the ray passing through the origin (camera position in view space) and the view space point to be reconstructed by applying the inverse of the projection matrix.

The inverse projection matrix is given by

$$P^{-1} = \begin{bmatrix} \frac{r}{c} & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & \frac{1}{c} & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & -1 \\ 0 & 0 & \frac{n-f}{2fn} & \frac{f+n}{2fn} \end{bmatrix}$$

This can be verified by checking that $PP^{-1} = I$.

Augment the 2D point $\vec{p}_{ndc}$ by setting $z=1$ and $w=1$ and multiply the result by the inverse projection matrix $P^{-1}$:

\begin{align} \vec{p}_{ray} &= P^{-1} \begin{bmatrix}p^{ndc}_x \\ p^{ndc}_y \\ 1 \\ 1\end{bmatrix} \\ \\ &= \begin{bmatrix} \frac{r}{c} & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & \frac{1}{c} & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & -1 \\ 0 & 0 & \frac{n-f}{2fn} & \frac{f+n}{2fn} \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{c}{rz}p_x \\ -\frac{c}{z}p_y \\ 1 \\ 1\end{bmatrix} \\ \\ &= \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{p_x}{p_z} \\ -\frac{p_y}{p_z} \\ -1 \\ w\end{bmatrix} \end{align}

The value of $w$ is irrelevant for our purposes, so we omit its definition. Note that the result is only a scaling away from the desired value.

Step 3: Scale ray to obtain the reconstructed point

Finally, scale the ray by $d f$ to obtain the reconstructed point $\vec{p}$ (the $w$-component of $\vec{p}_{ray}$ is discarded):

\begin{align} d \; f \; \vec{p}_{ray} &= \frac{-p_z}{f} \; f \; \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{p_x}{p_z} & -\frac{p_y}{p_z} & -1\end{bmatrix}^T \\ \\ &= -p_z \begin{bmatrix}-\frac{p_x}{p_z} & -\frac{p_y}{p_z} & -1\end{bmatrix}^T \\ \\ &= \begin{bmatrix}p_x & p_y & p_z\end{bmatrix}^T \\ \\ &= \vec{p} \end{align}

uniform mat4 IProjection; // inverse projection matrix