Disney's new image algorithm turns 2D photos into a 3D model

[greendestiny]

Wow tough crowd, this is actually extremely impressive if you're interested in the subject. The fineness and complexity of the reconstructed depth field is unparalleled.

[bsenftner]

I work in the field of Computer Vision based 3D Reconstruction. Although this development is "nice", it is hardly capable of the potential applications cited. Notice any 3D reconstructions used anywhere other than novelty? That's because they are mostly useless. In order to create useful 3D Reconstrucions, the underlying reconstruction system needs to recognize the object and use prior acquired references to supply information obscured from view, and/or identify transformations (damage, wear) to the "original" objects and scene being analyzed. The goal is to supply one image of an object, and receive back a correctly formed, rigged for correct motion, 3d geometry of nearly any common object. And it's coming.

[w_t_payne]

Looks very nice - and of great interest to me, since I was already playing with epipolar images for structure - from - motion albeit for a very different application.

[ohwp]

Very impressive! I think this has the best quality I've seen.

Also the shot on the boat makes me wonder if this could be used as steady-shot-software.

[hardwaresofton]

That's pretty awesome. I wonder if they will hook it up to google maps and start using real cities for game levels.

Also related, check out the work Japan has been doing for years

http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/live2d-drawing-technology...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/video-sonys-motionportrai...

[xedarius]

This is pretty neat, although I would suggest perhaps of limited use. The whole point of a 3D model is that it can be viewed from any angle (also at any scale). The 2D scene lacks sufficient information to reconstruct the 3D scene. This can be seen with the toys on the sofa when the back of the hippo becomes visible and there is no texture or model data. You could extrapolate and assume there's a degree of symmetry in the object, but this would only work on a limited subset of objects.

[Keyframe]

It looks like it could be a tremendous time saver for camera projection mapping for matte paintings even if you don't circle all around set or geometry. I suspect that was their motivation.

[bnegreve]

The title is a bit misleading, it's not from a single photo but from a video stream.

[moocowduckquack]

photos, not photo

[shreeshga]

http://make3d.cs.cornell.edu/

[stelonix]

That one is pretty neat. I remember it had interactive demos, but I can't find them in that site (skimmed over it while at work).

[xabi]

Other option:

Videotrace http://punchcard.com.au/

[kang]

ProForma 3d scanner using a webcam : http://hackaday.com/2012/04/30/getting-a-textured-3d-scan-fr...

[jimparkins]

Maybe I am missing the point - but this style of 3d I have never really found visually impressive or fun. I think it is because of the limited range of movement on display. Half the fun of this kind of 3d would be to find things initially hidden in the opening view. I can imagine my sun tilting his ipad to see behind things. But the affect only shifts very slightly. I know that masses more information would be needed for such an affect but to me at least this is what this 3d hints at and why i guess ultimately i find it disappointing.

[blt]

You're disappointed because it's not magic or strong AI?

[demallien]

Something like this maybe? : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHepKd38pr0

[cjcenizal]

Imagine capturing footage on your phone/Glass and reviewing it on a large display that tracks your head movements and adjusts the camera accordingly.

Think of the Minority Report scene when Cruise is watching pseudo-3D footage of his family.

The history of media shows a trend towards 100% faithfully recreated experiences. Photos > Film > Video w/ audio > 3D. This gets us one step closer.

[thomasfl]

This looks like it could be used as a replacement for 3d laser scanner.

[rorrr2]

It turns a series of photos into a 3D model, which has been done to death.

Autodesk 123D (which is free) can create a 3D model from just two photos.

[moocowduckquack]

Don't be daft, people don't stop developing in an area just because it has been approached before and besides, this stuff is way ahead of the tech in Autodesk 123D.

You might as well complain that people are still developing video compression techniques.

[makos]

Yes, very similar. However there is still room for improvement. Maybe Disney found a solution to make cleaner models, leading to a 3d-print ready solution. With 123D you need to spend time on cleaning the mesh.

ps. this seems to be an open source version of 123D http://insight3d.sourceforge.net/ Interesting, but havent used it yet

[nwh]

Pity every photo you upload to that service gets made public.