Posted on 07/31/2006 10:19:08 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
Via the EET comes word of a new technology called Photosynth, which can stitch together 2D snapshots of a location to build a 3D walkthrough. So for instance, you could do a Google Image or Flickr search for photos of the Eiffel Tower, dump all the resulting photos of the monument into Photosynth, and have the software recreate it and its surroundings in 3D.
The software also lets you annotate an object in an image, and that annotation will follow the object as you view other photos in the same collection. Here's the abstract, which gives a summary of the features:
We have developed a system for interactively browsing and exploring large unstructured collections of photographs of a scene using a novel 3D interface. Our system consists of an image-based modeling front end, which automatically computes the viewpoint of each photograph as well as a sparse 3D model of the scene and image to model correspondences. Our photo navigation tool uses image-based rendering techniques to smoothly transition between photographs, while also enabling full 3D navigation and exploration of the set of images and world geometry, along with auxiliary information such as overhead maps. Our system also makes it easy to construct photo tours of scenic or historic locations, as well as to annotate image details, which are automatically transferred to other relevant images in the collection. We demonstrate our system on several large personal photo collections as well as images gathered from photo sharing Web sites on the Internet.
The first thing that I thought of on reading this this story is Harvard's Archaeological Resources for New Testament Studies, which is basically a digital archive of Helmut Koester's massive photo collection of archaeological sites. Many other historians have similar photo archives of sites, monuments, artifacts, etc. relating to their fields of interest, and something like Photosynth could be used to synthesize those collections into 3D walkthroughs for folks who can't afford to visit the sites themselves.
Right now, Photosynth is just one of a number of projects from a collaboration of Microsoft Research and the University of Washington. So there's no word yet on when you'll be able to pick up a copy. No doubt the comercial release of this is three to five years away. In the meantime, check out this video of the software in action, this video interview with one of the architects, and this in-browser Java demo.
If they release this it will completely change the way VR tours are made, and the current software out there will be obsolete.
I also notice it was done in Java. Things must be opening up at MicroSoft.
VERY COOL demo. A bit slow - wouldn't work on Safari on the Mac (but nothing works on Safari anyway).
The idea is outstanding.
Excellent. Can't wait to see it.
Can I use this on humans? Oh, the possibilities...
I have been thinking for some time that Hollywood would eventually release 3D versions of old movies based on this software. Eventually you could make a favorite movie into a virtual theme park where you could wander around a virtual set. Not to mention the potential for a massively interactive game in which you and others take on the persona of the characters and rewrite the script in real time.
> I have been thinking for some time that Hollywood would eventually release 3D versions of old movies based on this software.
Eventually? How about NEXT YEAR.
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/star%20wars%20to%20be%20released%20in%203-d_25_04_2006
"Director GEORGE LUCAS will re-release the original STAR WARS in 3-D to coincide with the film's 30th anniversary next year (07). The decision to release a 3-D version of the film in cinemas was based on the enormously successful "special edition" re-issues of the film a few years ago."
bump
He can do this because most of the sets are virtual anyway. What I'm thinking is there will be software that can build objects from multiple views of the set. Perhaps this software is ready, but it seems a bit preliminary so far.
Besides, my vision is to be able to walk into the movie and rummage around.
> He can do this because most of the sets are virtual anyway.
Ahhh.... no. The sets were made of plywood and plaster, and were torn down going on thirty years ago. This is "Star Wars" that's being made 3-D. The *original* Star Wars.
> Besides, my vision is to be able to walk into the movie and rummage around.
Going to go Behind The Green Door, eh? Just be careful around the Ninth Gate....
I think Google Earth was the last app that made my jaw drop. When this is actually available for use, it will be another.
Vaporware.
Nice to see that they are being innovative. Not all that often, but very nice.
Your are correct that the sets on the original Star Wars trilogy were hardware, but there was a lot of blue screen stuff. I'm thinking if King Kong could be done with virtual sets and virtual actors (at least the animals) then Lucas could digitize the original and replace the whole shebang with CG.
That would be a bit different than what MS is doing, although I don't know exactly where to draw the line.
The thing I've been predicting is new "John Wayne" or "Marx Bros." movies. Once CG advances another generation, computer modeled actors might well be indistinguishable from the original.
That thought also crossed my mind - wait til the porno industry gets hold of this technology.
Already working. It's just a matter of whether Microsoft wants to release it.
I noticed they're doing this in cooperation with a university. Maybe that's where the innovation came from. Not to knock MS on this. If that's what they need to create innovative products, then I'm all for more of it.
perhaps this will finally lead to the virtual reality that has been promised for so long. Not those bulky headsets but something with good images and practical.
Imagine VR meetings...
Well that's java
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