Example 3D Output using Google SketchUp
Our 3D scanning routine produces 3D data that can be used by many different programs including 3D Studio Max and AutoCAD. Unfortunately, configuring a PC to read this data can require downloading special viewers and other software. Google has made the process of viewing SketchUp models easy, and because SketchUp can easily import our data we will use it as a demonstration platform. Starting in 2010 we plan to begin uploading example 3D models of our data.
I DID NOT MAKE THE EXAMPLES BELOW
Until we have data to display we will show some SketchUp models that approximate our expected output. You can use your mouse to spin the 3D models around, and the center scroll button on your mouse allows you to zoom in and out of the models.
Other people created these models by hand, and this is a very tedious process. While these models are relatively small and probably took less than a day to create, an executive at Electronic Arts told me that a skilled artist can take over two weeks to make a detailed room for a video game. Concerning forensic recording of a crime scene, I was told by the FBI in Quantico VA that recording and modeling a crime scene can range from a few hours to a few months. The 3D-360 automates the process of creating a room, and I expect to eventually be able to produce photorealistic models of rooms in under one hour of scanning.
This is a simple SketchUp model of a living room. This probably took a few hours, and the modeler probably used a combination of basic shapes and pictures.
SketchUp is normally used to show exteriors, but it can do much more. In 2008 we met with the Google SketchUp team and demonstrated how a 3D model created by Prototype-3 can be integrated into a SketchUp exterior. By combining the technologies you could travel from the bird’s eye view of Google Earth down to a building, and then into it. SketchUp doesn’t easily support viewing interiors yet because interiors are so difficult to make. People get around this limitation by leaving a wall off of a building so that you can look inside.
Here’s another simple room. I’m looking forward to scanning real scenes like historic buildings, construction sites, crime scenes, content for training…..