3D Scanning and Virtual Reality
Wed, 25 Jun 2014
We've been doing a fair amount of work with 3D printing at Interact Labs over the past few months. More recently we have started to get in to 3D scanning to help us create models for printing. One of the easiest 3D scanning technologies to work with is 123D Catch from Autodesk. This software enables you to "scan" an object by simply taking photographs of it from multiple angles. Once you've taken your pictures you upload them to the Autodesk server, where they are processed and a 3D model is produced. The output is normally fine for 3D printing (and the service is free for non-commercial use).
We wondered how these models might look if, rather than being printed, they were converted to a format suitable for viewing in our Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset. Using a free 3D modelling program called OpenSpace3D we've been doing just that and the results have been impressive.
We've been scanning a combination of building exteriors and small and large objects and have been combining them to produce little "worlds" that can be viewed on the Oculus Rift. While they are not quite as "real" as the real things, they look good and 123D Catch manages to capture the visual detail, as well as getting the shapes of the objects pretty much spot on.
Check out some pictures of this work-in-progress here on Flickr. The stars of this particular set of images are "Sockman", a public artwork in the centre of Loughborough, and a swan statue from Loughborough park.
