Diaries of a Nokia Fan Boy

I know, this has nothing to do with Nokia, or Symbian, or even the mobile industry, but it might.

The folks over at Cambridge University managed to create a 3D scanner using just a single webcam, without lasers or any other tech that might assist with that. The idea is fairly simple – turn the object, snap a pic, turn it again and take another pic, etc. But its the execution that is complex because the algorithm has to identify the object, track some key points, and then put it all together, and correctly identify the distance between all the points. And that’s not to mention triangulation, creating a surface mesh, and applying the skin to the object.

The reason I say this may become part of the mobile industry is the applications that it has. For instance, we could create 3D games, or animations, right on the phone. Just add some information, such as bending point, amount of stretch, etc. and you have a character. You could put the camera at the front of the car and map a racing course.

In the current version it appears that the camera needs to remain still in order for the 3D mapping to be effective, however with the use of accelerometers, GPS, and a compass we could start moving around large objects. This could then work great for artistic/engineering applications, where starting with a basic model would then allow the artist/engineer to modify it to their heart’s content.

Anyway, this is an amazingly powerful tool in my opinion, but take a look at the video and decide for yourself.

-Nokia FanBoy

Cambridge University – Qi Pan – ProFORMA