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Software Converts 2D Images To 3D
eldavojohn writes "Dr. David McKinnon from Queensland University of Technology, has recently launched a site that turns your sets of 2D images into 3D bump maps by way of 8 years of his research. The catch is that you need to have between five and fifteen photos of your object and they must overlap at least 80 to 90 percent. So with a video of an object, one might be able to extract every nth frame and use this site to generate a 3D model. Doctor McKinnon said, 'The full version of this software would be great for realistic learning simulators and training software, where you want everything to look like the real thing. This technology could also be great for museums wishing to turn their display objects into 3D images that can be viewed online. We are even looking into making 3D models of cows to save farmers spending thousands of dollars transporting their cattle vast distances to auction sites, allowing for an eBay style auction website for cattle. Films, animations and computer games could also benefit, since 3D film making is taking over from the traditional 2D method of filmmaking. Another application is allowing people to create 3D models of their own face to use on their avatar in computer games or 3D social networking sites such as Second Life or Sony's Home.' Physorg has more details."
between five and fifteen photos of your object and they must overlap at least 80 to 90 percent.
So the 3D object in question will only have a front side? That's nowhere near enough for all sides.
Article title is misleading. A bump-map is less exciting than converting 2D to 3D. It's not like it's going to build a perfect model of your head from 15 photos.
Photosynth is far more interesting if you're excited by this concept.
Porquoi?
. . . http://www.mndl.hu/works/fractalcow
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
...except Crazybump (http://www.crazybump.com/) is faster, funnier, and has more features. Indispensable for 3D shader development.
What happens if we use this for videos (which are just sequences of generally overlapping images)?
If any progress could be made in this department, we could make video game maps by simply recording a factory with a video camera.
Here is another one in Australia from multiple angles. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Perth_Impossible_Triangle.jpg
I'm posting this really late in the thread so maybe nobody will read it (or care) but...
If there is one place on earth that is crying out to see this technology used it is the KILOMETERS (really!) worth of intricate stone carvings at Angkor Wat (Cambodia). I've thought about borrowing (stealing?) a friend's $500,000 laser scanner to capture them but the 1) he (his institute really) probably wouldn't let me 2) the thugs who run Cambodia would probably not let me use it without me paying some extortionate amount. There really is no-where else on earth where you can see the results of thousands of man-years of skilled stone carvers. This priceless cultural heritage should be captured before pollutants like acid rain slowly erodes it or thieves literally dynamite it to pieces.
Now perhaps anyone with a good video camera, a steady hand, and a LOT of patience can get this done! Perhaps if this job is too large for any one individual to complete it could be done in sections and the individual video sequences shared over the internet. Anyway, I hope this software is modified to handle video (subject to certain restrictions such as shooting in progressive mode).