Photorealistic Digital 3D Model Creation
Practical photorealistic 3D capture and display has been an elusive goal since the first stereoscopic viewer was built in 1838. Because of the rapid evolution of digital camera technology over the last ten years, automatic 3D capture and display has finally becoming a practical reality. The current prototype combines our patented omnidirectional stereoscopic camera system with mature machine vision algorithms, standard 3D modeling tools, and current computer video display hardware. We are improving the quality of our 3D output by enhancing camera optics and speeding up image capture. We are also writing custom software to enhance the compatibility of our 3D output with mainstream 3D software like 3D Studio Max, Google Earth, and Google SketchUp. Contact us if you would like early access to this emerging technology.
Steuart Systems History
2024: Reach #1 out of almost 500 in Tanks and Temples 2D to 3D benchmark
2020: Build & test 32-camera prototype
2015: Discover passive 3D scanning. Start using a DJI drone & Agisoft Metashape to make 3D models.
2011: Start migration to Linux, OpenCL, and AMD APUs (APUs have CPU & GPU on the same chip and can efficiently share memory)
2008: Programming team starts using CUDA 1.0 to speed up image processing ~10x
2006: Design/build 8-camera scanner with pattern projection and publish paper with UVA in 4th Intl Conference on 3D Digital Imaging and Modeling
2006: Begin developing skills in HDR photography
2005 to 2018: Build several original camera-arra prototypes with cameras, lights, servos, and lasers
2003: Filed 3D-360 patent to fix problems in panoramic photography (2D-360s)
1996: Start making panoramas (2D-360s) with Apple’s QuickTimeVR 1.0
1987 to 2002: Designed & managed parts of a RELIABLE computer & networking systems for up to 1,000 person company.
1984: Built first computer system (pressure monitoring system with sensors, servos, and pump) with Motorola 6800 family 8-bit CPU and code in assembly.
We Are #1 in the ETH 3D Software Benchmark
The Steuart Systems photorealistic 3D scanner uses hardware & software to produce 3D models, but how good is our software? We used the ETH 3D benchmark to evaluate it. We were hoping to be in the top 10% of the 116 entries from around the world, and the March 31 2022 benchmark result put us at #1….
Precise Calibration Is Essential for Good 3D Models
Garbage in Garbage out It is amazing that 3D models can be created from regular (uncalibrated) pictures. This link shows some nice examples of how uncalibrated images can be used to make 3D models. Quality in Quality out Our approach is harder, but our results are better. We precisely calibrate our cameras, and we use…
Latest Example of 3D Scanner Noise Reduction
Here is an example of our latest results after a few more weeks of tuning the noise reduction controls. Now that most artifacts and distortion are sufficiently reduced, we will begin merging scans to produce larger models.
Scanning Results Keep Getting Better
We have steadily improved our scanning results over the last 6 weeks by modifying hardware, writing new software, and tuning over a dozen variables. The video below demonstrates the effect of our enhanced noise reduction: Low noise in 3D models is important for two reasons: Low noise 3D looks better. Low noise 3D models…
First Results from New Proto-5A Scanner
Here is an early 3D scan from our latest prototype scanner. EARLY is a key word here, because our scanner has only been operational for a couple of weeks. During the last year my team has completely upgraded the scanner hardware including cameras, lenses, chassis, and calibration tools. We have also ported our software from…
9 Months of Software Enhancements Have Cut Errors in Half Again
This year’s enhancements to the image processing routines in our stereo scanning software has improved processing speed and 3D model accuracy. Comparisons between our current results and those from 9 months ago show that we have reduced the magnitude of one type of geometric error in our 3D scans by a factor of 2 to…