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Microsoft Researchers Generate 3D Models From Ordinary Smartphones

Posted by timothy on from the full-size-model-of-earth dept.

New submitter subh_arya writes: Engineers from Microsoft Research have unveiled the first technology to perform 3D surface reconstruction from ordinary smartphone cameras. Their computational framework creates a connected 3D surface model by continuously registering RGB input to an incrementally built 3D model. Although the reconstruction results look promising, Microsoft does not plan to release an app anytime soon.

26 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Windows 10 by 0123456 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Fortunately, Windows 10 detects this attempt at copyright infringement, prevents the app from running, and sends your name and address to the cops.

    1. Re:Windows 10 by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 2

      Cops? What cops? Look at the equipment used by cops today in the USA. They're local S.W.A.T. teams now.

  2. LOL ... Lucious Fox ... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

    Soon, we can have that sonar thingy Lucius Fox did for Batman in the Dark Knight movie.

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:LOL ... Lucious Fox ... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      LOL ... Loo-see-us ... Lucius ... that looks creepily like Luscious as I've typed it.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. It leads the way. by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    Again.....porn.

    You thought dick pics were obnoxious? Wait until you see what comes out of your 3d printer.

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    -Styopa
  4. this is old hat. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm an engineer for Wayne Enterprises and I can assure you we've had this technology for 7 years available to purchase by military and defense agencies. Its only ever been used twice though, once for system testing and another time by Lucius Fox, one of our business section managers who said he was demoing it for a bat sanctuary or something.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:this is old hat. by subh_arya · · Score: 3, Informative

      Its true that the concept of 3D reconstruction from dense stereo/structure from motion is not new. However, the computational pipeline integrated entirely into a mobile device without any expensive hardware or offloading computation on a cloud, differentiates this effort from the previous ones.

      --
      A computer scientist is someone who, when told to Go to Hell sees the "go to" rather than the destination, as harmful.
    2. Re:this is old hat. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      I wish someone would make an app that I can measure objects with just the camera, and maybe a reference object fur scale.

      Develop that and you too can live the life of Bruce Wayne.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:this is old hat. by Rei · · Score: 1

      Too bad 123dcatch is such a terrible app. And not so much for the matching as the bad interface and the fact that the servers are down half the time. The backend could of course stand to be improved as well, but at least they should take care of the low-hanging fruit...

      Also, they have a pay version.... which is as a really expensive subscription and provides little that your average user would want. I'd be willing to pay for nothing more than the free app.... if they'd actually put forth the effort to fix and improve it. Because when it works it's great. Otherwise...

      --
      Stale pastry is hollow succor to one who is bereft of ostrich.
  5. launching it soon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Seems the submitter didn't read the article:

    Currently, the app is not available for download - however the team is planning on launching it soon.

  6. 123D Catch? Autodesk already has an app doing this by gmezero · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why is this news? I'm already doing this on my Android phone with 123D Catch and it's available for iOS and Windows Phone as well. You can find more about it here.

    http://www.123dapp.com/catch

  7. Thats the future by Bob768 · · Score: 1

    This is the next paradigm in camera tech. More precise article here: http://3dprint.com/91439/mobil...

    1. Re:Thats the future by tsm_sf · · Score: 1

      Now we just need to wait about 10 years for phone hardware to reach a point where this will create usable, useful models.

      --
      Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
    2. Re:Thats the future by tsm_sf · · Score: 1

      The tech is 20+ years old. When you can fit 4 titan cards into a phone this will be more than a novelty.

      --
      Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
  8. Re:123D Catch? Autodesk already has an app doing t by bradgoodman · · Score: 2

    Mod Up - was going to say the same. They look very, very similar.

  9. Re:123D Catch? Autodesk already has an app doing t by Thagg · · Score: 4, Informative

    The differences are significant:

    1) The Microsoft app works in real-time on the phone, rather than 123D Catch processing in the cloud
    2) The Microsoft app shows real-time results, so you can see where there are issues, and continue to photograph until they are resolved. With 123D Catch you patch errors in post.
    3) The Autodesk 123D Catch app actually exists, and the earlier web-based version has been around for about four years.

    I'm kind of surprised that Microsoft isn't using the acceleration and magnetic sensors in the phone to help determine the camera position. It's one of the features that phone cameras have that DSLR's don't.

    --
    I love Mondays. On a Monday, anything is possible.
  10. Re:123D Catch? Autodesk already has an app doing t by subh_arya · · Score: 2

    I'm kind of surprised that Microsoft isn't using the acceleration and magnetic sensors in the phone to help determine the camera position. It's one of the features that phone cameras have that DSLR's don't.

    Actually they do. Fig.2 in the paper, where the IMU output is used to refine the camera pose estimated by purely image based means.

    --
    A computer scientist is someone who, when told to Go to Hell sees the "go to" rather than the destination, as harmful.
  11. If micros oft Really Wanted to be Noticed by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    Federal grant idea. You know, the 3D tech is all over the place, the data base of 3D objects is not. How about having some unemployed STEM minions go out and map objects at places like Home Depot, Lowes, and Ikea? Create a Cloud of models for tools, furniture, auto parts, and farm tools; in short, everything that is man made and turn it into a 3D print. Someones going to do it.

    1. Re:If micros oft Really Wanted to be Noticed by spacepimp · · Score: 1

      What do you think Google's project tango is for?

  12. Re:Hologram translation by mark-t · · Score: 1

    At what point did Pepper's Ghost come to mean the same thing as hologram?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  13. Agisoft PhotoScan by vipw · · Score: 1

    Anyone interested in this, and wanting good results, should check out Agisoft PhotoScan.

    1. Re:Agisoft PhotoScan by spacepimp · · Score: 1

      I'm using it right now with 634 RTK Geo referenced photos. Sometimes the results are astonishing, others leave room for improvement. Sony A5100 currently moving to A7R tonight, for use with UAV.

    2. Re:Agisoft PhotoScan by vipw · · Score: 1

      I'm doing product shots. It's really astonishing. It's like I've built the transporter from Star Trek.

  14. Trimensional app also an interesting 3d scanner by 0x537461746943 · · Score: 1

    There is a similar app on iOS that I have played with. It does work a little differently though. I takes 4 pictures of an object up close to the camera by moving a white light around the edges of the screen (while the camera stays in one place) in a dark room and uses the shadows to map the 3d object. Seems to work ok but does require a dark room and the object to be very close to the camera. This one works entirely on the phone and doesn't involve a cloud. http://www.trimensional.com/

  15. Re:Were they first? by spacepimp · · Score: 1

    This has been used in archeology for quite some time.

  16. At least they have the sense to not release it by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

    because MS is far from the first with something like this.

    My copy of "Strata Foto 3D CX" does exactly this same thing. And yes, I use my 8 Mpx iPhone camera to record images. These ultimately yield a color-mapped, 3D-skinned, object.

    In the "About" box, one finds the following:

    "Copyright (c) 2002-11, Creative Dimension Software Ltd . A ll rights reserved."

    And then a little further down the buyout-chain is this:

    Portions of this software are based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. Copyright (c) 1991-1998, Thomas G. Lane

    So hey, MS, you have nothing new, but something typically behind the curve.