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Point and Shoot 3D Modeling (Video)
Slashdot editor Tim Lord was wandering around SXSW and ran into a small display for Lynx Laboratories, a startup that makes this claim about its Lynx A camera: "If you can use a point-and-shoot Nikon, you'll find the Lynx even easier to use. Instead of outputing 2D images, it produces 3D models of whatever you point it at. It's faster and cheaper than existing solutions today." There's a two-minute demo at the end of the video in which Lynx Founder and CEO Chris Slaughter shows how it works, and (at least in his hands) it looks extremely easy. The company is a University of Texas spinoff that "has received prestigious awards including the 1st Place Idea2Product (I2P) Texas, 1st Place I2P Global, Top 10 Dell Innovators and National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Funding." Naturally, they're hoping to raise money through Kickstarter as well. They're looking for $50,000 and as of 13 March 2013 it looks like they've raised $88,548 of it. There are obviously other ways to make 3-D images and models. But Lynx seems to have made a novel device, and the images it makes can be picked up directly by a number of 3D printer software packages. The Lynx-A also does motion capture, which could really speed up rotoscoping and other techniques that make video games and other animations look more lifelike than pure animation. That's totally different from static 3D modeling but might be more interesting to more people, at least in a commercial sense.
Hmmm... I don't see how ncurses can render a 3d image in a console... is that a new build option?
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
If you already have a Kinect (or other) sensor and a laptop, this can be achieved with Skanect (http://skanect.manctl.com/).
Regarding Kickstart, is that they reached their goal. Not that they've achieved 88,000 out of 55,000.
In the summary it says: "They're looking for $50,000 and as of 13 March 2013 it looks like they've raised $88,548 of it." On kickstart, it shows the same. So if you hit your goal, you can still collect additional money? I don't understand how this works.
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
As a long-time Slashdot user, I really object to these un-labelled ads. It's not so much that you're printing ads; it's that you're passing them off as editorial. Your readers are smart; we expect you to realise this, and it feels like an insult to us to suggest we're not critically-minded enough to distinguish advertising material from genuine editorial.
Please start labelling your ads as such, and allow those of us who possess the option to hide ads to hide these posts too.
firefox, adblock
what is going on foks
Point and shoot 3D coffee table models. The future is going to be weird.
It looks about the quality of "123D Catch" so I don't see the point.
They're looking for $50,000 and as of 13 March 2013 it looks like they've raised $88,548 of it.
That's fast... only -$38,548 to go!
I'm not really impressed by this product and I am not sure if they are really honest. It looks like they built a nice computer around a
Kinect or Asus and use Open Source algorithms. They only have a single team member with computer vision experience and show algorithms like skeleton tracking and Kinect Fusion like renderings. Both algorithms look and perform exactly as their counterparts in OpenNI or the PointCloudLibrary.
The did not invent any of the used algorithms and I am not sure if they even reimplemented them or just use the available sources.
It does 3D photogrammetry, a now fairly widely-implemented technique? How is this any different from having a decent laptop or desktop computer and a decent camera, and either tethering the two of them together (if you want real-time feedback) or shooting the pictures and plugging the camera or SD card into the computer and running it through the software? This gadget is relatively bulky too. It isn't as portable as having an un-tethered camera to take out in the field in places you wouldn't want to try to take a computer, and then bring the photos back to the lab or the car for processing. I don't know what the price is, but I wouldn't expect this to be an cheaper solution compared to buying a generic camera, computer, and the software to drive them.
I guess making a hand-held, all-in-one turnkey system is innovative. And having the motion capture at the same time is a plus. That might be the real innovation here rather than the static 3D models only.
This looks a lot like Autodesk's 123D Catch, but the bonus here is you don't have to sign up for an account with Autodesk.
I for one would be pretty excited to have my 3D scan data local, so I don't have to wait for Autodesk's cloud to do the processing or have my scans tracked by a third party. I'm kind of not cool with Autodesk having a model of the inside of my bedroom, for instance.
I once did a 123D scan of a model sculpted out of banana bread: http://zheng3.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/yes-we-have-no-bananas/ --the resolution's OK but I don't think I'd use this technology for anything that I planned to deform or edit too much. The geometry's just too dense to work with easily.
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
Its an Asus branded Kinect mounted in a box with a laptop/tablet. :/
I cracked up when he said "create quality models" while showing something you would see in Playstation 2/XBOX game.
The amount of bullshit about supercomputers was hard to listen
Why pay $120 for Kinect when you can pay $1800 on Kickstarter!
Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
I think you can get something similar for free right now from Autodesk
This is like a lower resolution version of something that I've had on my iphone for a year already... Weird. Ever heard of 123d Catch by Autodesk????
Stop ruining this ad with all your logical comments about hundreds of better free products on the market already!
I don't do the in-person interviews. Tim does them. Here. Let me help you figure that out by repeating part of the first sentence of the summary: "Slashdot editor Tim Lord was wandering around SXSW and ran into a small display..."
See? "Tim." Nice guy. Really. I've known him for years. And no, he doesn't take money for doing those videos.
I am a part-time hourly worker who edits and uploads videos. No more and no less.
Still, let me apologize on Tim's behalf for having had something positive to say about something.
To you, that obviously means it's a paid ad. Right?
After all, you are just about 100% negative, based on your Slashdot comment-posting history: http://slashdot.org/~RocketRabbit
Bunny, have you ever thought about getting a job or finding a girlfriend or at least finding something to be positive about once in a while?
If I can help, let me know.
- R
Don't be such a Pharisee, Rob. I'm just poking gentle fun at you for diluting the Slashdot that we all knew and loved. I'm sure you don't really have much of a say in the direction Dice has taken this site, and I certainly am not the only one complaining here about it.
Maybe you can take these complaints as they are - genuine.
Anyway thanks for not giving me the Slashdot death penalty here for saying this. Not sure what the status is on that feature, because it's been a long while since there was an updated release of the Slashcode.
... but I just couldn't get to the FAQ answers. C'est la vie
Do they actually get around to showing it in action or is the whole 12 minutes just this guy talking?
If you don't risk failure you don't risk success.
I don't mind if you or anyone else at Slashdot posts stuff like this when it's relevant and interesting, which this one is. I don't evenm care if you get money for it, though it should be labeled as such if so. As long as it's relevant and ionteresting to me, that's what I care about. It Slashdot makes a few bucks in the process, then fine - win/win.
I do mind when the quality of the material is poor and it's not relevant or interesting. Then I feel like my time is being wasted.
I don't know for a fact if Slashdot got money for this or any other posting, and I don't care if you do. But remember that I come to Slashdot for that "geek mentality", for thing that are interesting to genuine geeks. Don't dilute your brand. If my non-geek friends would have any idea what a posting here is about, then it shouldn't be here.