Microsoft launching Kinect based 3D scanner called Fusion
Mar 07, 2013 No Comments
(Credit: allthingsd.com)
3D NEWS> 3D PRINTING
Microsoft’s annual three day TechFest started on March 5th and the event has revealed plenty of interesting concepts.
Originally an exclusively internal event for Microsoft Research scientists to present their latest projects to fellow researchers, outsiders can now see the ideas, concepts and prototypes before (and if) they become commercial products.
With interest in 3D scanning and 3D printing growing, Microsoft Research has said high quality 3D scanning will be available to Windows and Xbox users soon.
Kinect Fusion will enable high-quality scanning and reconstruction of 3D models using just a handheld Kinect for Windows or Kinect for Xbox sensor. The implementation leverages C++ Accelerated Massive Parallelism, which accelerates the execution of C++ code by utilising the data-parallel hardware commonly found in GPUs.
Simple samples have been demonstrated to get developers up to speed with 3-D scanning. As more depth information is captured, the results get more and more refined, as the fuzzy data is collated and processed.
FREE WEEKLY 3D NEWS BULLETIN –
Only geometrical data is collated, not colour, something that the low-cost 3D scanning system CADScan will be able to offer albeit at a far higher expected price tag of £650.
Microsoft Research Asia has also been showing an impressive app that only needs a Windows 8 phone to scan enough data to produce a good quality mesh model. It is part of the 3-D Reconstruction by Portable Devices project.
Once the object (for example someone’s head) has been scanned, the data is sent up to a cloud server where it is processed and a 3D mesh model is sent back to the phone. This data could, in theory, be used to 3D print a replica object.
There is no confirmation whether the app will be made commercially available.
The project is also an effort to enable mobile phones and devices to generate augmented-reality scenarios. The idea is to collect a world-class 3D object repository via leveraging crowdsourcing. For recognition, they aim to be able to deal identifying thousands of objects and providing real-time performance, all without markers.
Microsoft describe a typical scenario:
"Assuming that all sellers such as Amazon or IKEA make 3-D models for their products with a portable 3-D scanner app, if you want to buy a vase for your desk, you can find candidates by keyword or visual search. By then photographing your desk with your phone camera, a photo of the vase on the desk will be shown on the screen. With this true, 3D vase model, you can walk around to evaluate the effect to see which vase is most desirable. Other scenarios include 3-D facial modelling, social-network sharing, and 3-D printing."
You can see a video of the process on allthingsd.com.
Another project called BodyAvatar is a natural interface that lets Kinect players create 3D avatars of any shape that they can imagine, by using their own bodies as the design tool.
For the first stage a Kinect scans a person’s body creating the initial shape for the avatar. They can then ‘mould and sculpt’ the avatar with gesture, rather than complex modelling tools.
A 3D monitor where you can actually feel the objects
Microsoft has also been showing a 3D monitor that provides haptic feedback so people can physically interact with the on-screen objects . For example, they could push various objects to feel what the friction would be like on various surfaces.
It is the start of an investigative research tool that will enable the exploration of various natural touch interactions in 3D with both visual and haptic feedback. The table-top system enables the user to explore a 3D data set in X, Y, and Z with natural touch interactions.
The X and Y interactions come via X and Y touch interaction on the screen, visually scrolling in X and Y through the data set. As the user naturally explores in depth, a gentle push on the touch screen physically moves the screen in Z with appropriate video rendering at the appropriate XY cutting plane. At appropriate Z positions, haptic detents and other Z-axis force feedback will be rendered as the user explores along the Z axis.
FREE WEEKLY 3D NEWS BULLETIN –
