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What are good resources for looking into converting photos into 3d object models? I'm really impressed by Shapeways but would like to take current real-world o

by dy 16y ago

What are good resources for looking into converting photos into 3d object models? I'm really impressed by Shapeways but would like to take current real-world objects as a base rather than building them in a 3D tool etc. I've seen the laser scanners but they're relatively expensive. Is there anything like a mount that takes two iphones, and software that can take those two photos to create atleast a projection?

vilya 16y ago
There's an ongoing effort to add 3D reconstruction into the OpenCV library: http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/EffortFor3dReconstruction http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/EffortFor3dReconstructio... If you're not already familiar with OpenCV, it's a rather good (and well documented!) open source image processing library. It's written in C++ but has bindings for a bunch of other languages too.
captainbenis 16y ago
there are plenty of DIY laser scanners that give much better results than anything you could do with an iphone alone. laser, line splitting lens, turntable, hi-resolution webcam, done.
motters 16y ago
Probably the simplest way of obtaining 3D data suitable for turning into an object model would be using a Kinect. For large objects, like buildings, you would need either expensive laser scanners or something which solves the multi-view stereo problem. There are systems capable of doing this, such as Photosynth, but in general it's quite involved with no easy solutions. For medium range models, such as automotive applications, you could have a pair of cameras aligned in parallel and connected to a PC/laptop then use a utility like v4l2stereo.
- dy 16y ago
  Thanks for the information - amazing what they've gotten accomplished already with the Kinect. I found this thread to be a pretty good summary of Kinect progress into 3d-scanning. http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot/browse_thread/thread/f3e3335991eda00c http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot/browse_thread/thread...
anoved 16y ago
If you're working with real-world objects, one approach is to place the object of interest on a turntable, allowing you to capture multiple perspectives with a single camera/sensor. Philo Hurbain has made some delightfully clever LEGO NXT 3D scanners this way (delightful especially because they're used, in turn, to digitize the shape of complex LEGO parts) - one using a needle probe, and another using a laser. http://philohome.com/scan3d/scan3d.htm http://philohome.com/scan3d/scan3d.htm http://philohome.com/scan3dlaser/scan3dlaser.htm http://philohome.com/scan3dlaser/scan3dlaser.htm You might also be interested in the Makerbot folks' structured light 3d scanner kit: http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/09/14/new-makerbot-3d-scanner-kit/ http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/09/14/new-makerbot-3d-scanner-...
lwat 16y ago
Shapeways should run a service when you send them a part or two and they scan it to turn it into a 3D model ready to modify and print.
greendestiny 16y ago
There are a lot of approaches. Yes there is software that takes two photos and let you reconstruct 3d. If you have a man-made object you probably don't want a generic point-cloud building approach (like say http://www.photosculpt.net/ http://www.photosculpt.net/ ) - but rather something like Photomodeler that lets you select vertices and build up surfaces. There is also software that builds models from silhouette methods, that usually require you printing out targets which you place the model, so of like a manual turntable approach. I can't remember the name of software that does this at the moment, but its out there. Or you could work from video (just from a single camera) that you move around. That can be effective, not sure of the best software for doing this - it's called structure from motion, a quick google shows some source at this project site: http://phototour.cs.washington.edu/ http://phototour.cs.washington.edu/ There some code out there for a do it yourself laser scanner - this isn't what I was thinking of but it seems kind of cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK5eYhpBtQc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK5eYhpBtQc I've also seen some do it yourself structured light software (ie bring your own projector and camera), that seems to work ok. It kind of depends on what size and type of objects you want to scan - things like the surface properties could be important - also how long you can keep it still.
- dy 16y ago
  Thanks for the information, it was very helpful.

by dy 16y ago

vilya 16y ago

There's an ongoing effort to add 3D reconstruction into the OpenCV library: http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/EffortFor3dReconstruction http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/EffortFor3dReconstructio... If you're not already familiar with OpenCV, it's a rather good (and well documented!) open source image processing library. It's written in C++ but has bindings for a bunch of other languages too.

captainbenis 16y ago

there are plenty of DIY laser scanners that give much better results than anything you could do with an iphone alone. laser, line splitting lens, turntable, hi-resolution webcam, done.

motters 16y ago

Probably the simplest way of obtaining 3D data suitable for turning into an object model would be using a Kinect. For large objects, like buildings, you would need either expensive laser scanners or something which solves the multi-view stereo problem. There are systems capable of doing this, such as Photosynth, but in general it's quite involved with no easy solutions. For medium range models, such as automotive applications, you could have a pair of cameras aligned in parallel and connected to a PC/laptop then use a utility like v4l2stereo.

dy 16y ago
Thanks for the information - amazing what they've gotten accomplished already with the Kinect. I found this thread to be a pretty good summary of Kinect progress into 3d-scanning. http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot/browse_thread/thread/f3e3335991eda00c http://groups.google.com/group/makerbot/browse_thread/thread...

anoved 16y ago

If you're working with real-world objects, one approach is to place the object of interest on a turntable, allowing you to capture multiple perspectives with a single camera/sensor. Philo Hurbain has made some delightfully clever LEGO NXT 3D scanners this way (delightful especially because they're used, in turn, to digitize the shape of complex LEGO parts) - one using a needle probe, and another using a laser. http://philohome.com/scan3d/scan3d.htm http://philohome.com/scan3d/scan3d.htm http://philohome.com/scan3dlaser/scan3dlaser.htm http://philohome.com/scan3dlaser/scan3dlaser.htm You might also be interested in the Makerbot folks' structured light 3d scanner kit: http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/09/14/new-makerbot-3d-scanner-kit/ http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/09/14/new-makerbot-3d-scanner-...

lwat 16y ago

Shapeways should run a service when you send them a part or two and they scan it to turn it into a 3D model ready to modify and print.

greendestiny 16y ago

There are a lot of approaches. Yes there is software that takes two photos and let you reconstruct 3d. If you have a man-made object you probably don't want a generic point-cloud building approach (like say http://www.photosculpt.net/ http://www.photosculpt.net/ ) - but rather something like Photomodeler that lets you select vertices and build up surfaces. There is also software that builds models from silhouette methods, that usually require you printing out targets which you place the model, so of like a manual turntable approach. I can't remember the name of software that does this at the moment, but its out there. Or you could work from video (just from a single camera) that you move around. That can be effective, not sure of the best software for doing this - it's called structure from motion, a quick google shows some source at this project site: http://phototour.cs.washington.edu/ http://phototour.cs.washington.edu/ There some code out there for a do it yourself laser scanner - this isn't what I was thinking of but it seems kind of cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK5eYhpBtQc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK5eYhpBtQc I've also seen some do it yourself structured light software (ie bring your own projector and camera), that seems to work ok. It kind of depends on what size and type of objects you want to scan - things like the surface properties could be important - also how long you can keep it still.

dy 16y ago
Thanks for the information, it was very helpful.