3D Mars Scenes Recreated From Photos

Hoon Mihn Fao links to this BBC article about Microsoft Research scientists generating 3D models based on pictures beamed back from the Mars rovers. It begins "Using techniques originally applied to paintings, the researchers have written software that works out what flat images would look like from different viewpoints. The result is a navigable 3D model created from one or more pictures snapped by the Mars buggies."

Comments

Mars in Stereo

[stereo_Barryo]

To repeat myself, my friend Robert Clemenzi has put up a page on Mars in stereo and has written a program, that can be downloaded, that allows you to study the pictures from the rovers in either cross-eyed stereo or over-under. http://www.cpcug.org/user/clemenzi/science/MarsIma ges_3D.html

Where's the video?

[Gyler St. James]

Wow. They said something to the effect of being able to see other objects that was not completely visible in the image. "We work out what's behind an object and how we can automatically fill in what's not seen by cameras or painted." I wonder if this would allow you to rotate around objects that are halfway hidden, but what about asymmetrical objects? How can they extrapolate what's not known? Interesting none the less, but where's the video they talked about?

Re:Where's the video?

[Uncle_Al]

Look there:
Pictures and Videos

Have fun...

Other uses?

[Pumpernickle]

"We extract 3D information out of the image," said Mr Criminisi. "We work out what's behind an object and how we can automatically fill in what's not seen by cameras or painted."

Would this technique work, for, say, objects hidden or obscured by some sort of flimsy semi-transparent thin fibrous material? Or only hard, rock-like substances? ^^

Re:NASA did this from day one

[Anonymous Coward]

Grandparent said:

So, NASA has been taking stereo images since the beginning and making true 3D models, and now Microsoft has figured out how to make fake stereo images and fake 3D models?... Um, nice step backwards?

Parent said:

Try reading further down the page. They are taking a single image and building a steroscopic view.

Try understanding what you read. :) Making a stereoscopic view from a single image is a step backwards. They're interpolating to "resolve" information that doesn't really exist. It's like when crime dramas zoom in about 10x and then magically clean up the image to see details that were not captured on a security camera! If you want to extract depth, you need two pictures taken from separate locations. Otherwise you're just making educated guesses.

X...Y...Z
....w....

A.......B

Picture from camera A: X...Yw..Z
Picture from camera B: X..wY...Z

Please don't tell me you honestly think you can tell that w is in front of Y just by processing the picture from camera A (unless you know the exact dimensions of the WXYZ elements). You need the additional information provided by camera B. Consider a picture where you see a tall person and a short building. You might assume the person is standing in front of the building, but what if it's a miniature building in the foreground? Unless you have a 2nd picture, you can't know for sure.