by stephanlange on November 24, 2009
The Cambridge University Engineering Department developed ProForma.
ProFORMA (which stands for ‘Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition’) is some cool system that turns any ordinary webcam into a powerful 3D scanning tool.
The 3D models are constructed on the spot while you slowly rotate the objects.
As the user rotates the object in front of a stationary camera, a partial model is reconstructed and displayed to the user to assist view planning. The model is also used by the system to robustly track the pose of the object. Models are rapidly produced through a Delaunay tetrahedralisation of points obtained from on-line structure from motion estimation, followed by a probabilistic tetrahedron carving step to obtain a textured surface mesh of the object.
Pretty cool I say – check out the video
found here
by amnesia on November 16, 2009
Fractal lovers, brace yourselves. Here you will find some awesome pictures of the 3D Mandelbrot, “Mandelbulb”. Infinite awesome, on infinite levels. Here are four of the more impressive perspectives:
by amnesia on August 10, 2009
Some years in the making, this 3d line drawing tool looks pretty amazing. Click on the image or view the video here.
Illustration by James Patterson, software developed by Amit Pitaru.
Via QBN
by stephanlange on July 6, 2009
a new research project called the H.VR Editor allows you to "touch" and interact with CGI objects. Objects respond according to a pre-programmed graph of hardness values, and the system is capable of simulating texture and events like button presses.
No more building mockups – just put the right values in the program and off you go.
Imagine trying out the feel of a keyboard on your new phone without the phone ever being build or the feel of your new carpet at home without the carpet being manufactured first.
sounds pretty interesting to me – wouldn’t mind having a go at it.
by eunmac on February 15, 2009
The real world and virtual world are gradually blurring together. Fooling the human mind into not being able to separate these two worlds is still a challenge because our brains are pretty hard wired to spot incredibly subtle details that allow us to identify the fakes from reality, especially when computer graphics are in motion. At some point in the not too distant future it is likely that we will not be able to tell. Can we really trust what our eyes are telling us?
Spotting the difference is harder with still images. Can you tell which ones of these are real and which are fake*? Answers at the bottom or on rollover.
Take the test: Real or FAKE:
(Answers shown as you rollover image)
*Please click on the image for the original references and sources.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6) 
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
Want to share how well you did? – Tell us how many you got right in the comments 
Select/ highlight the text between the brackets below for a summary of the answers.
[ 1,2,5,7,8 - REAL
3,4,6,9,10 - FAKE / 3D]
by amnesia on December 15, 2008
Imagine this: You’re reading through a car magazine when you come to an ad for the new MINI Cabrio. The ad directs you to a URL, and once there, asks you to place your magazine in front of a webcam. Suddenly a 3D model of the new Mini appears on the page, and you are literally holding it in your hands. If you move it closer to the webcam, the Mini gets bigger, if you move it farther away, the Mini gets smaller, and you can twist, turn and rotate the model to look at it from any angle that you’d like. It’s like a miniature showroom in the palm of your hands, and you’re in control.
That’s exactly what Mini has done with their latest series of magazine ads.
Jump for more info and video demonstration
by stephanlange on November 27, 2008
A company called Sixense might have leapfrogged the field with a system called TrueMotion 3D. Rather than relying solely on an accelerometer, this controller uses a magnetic field to track both your hands’ positions in 3D space. With a refresh rate of ten milliseconds and accuracy up to a millimeter, and interest from developers including Activision and EA.
check it out – some really cool footage
by amnesia on August 25, 2008
The viral marketing for an upcoming film (yeah sorry, doctor Ron ain’t available for consultations unfortunately) uses your favourite face manipulation and mine, but mostly Iain’s, Oddcast’s Photoface (http://host.oddcast.com/photofit/) to create an incarnation of Dr. Ronald Chevalier.
http://www.ronaldchevalier.com/
And the film?
It’s Gentleman Broncos featuring Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame.
Made by Jared Hess of Napolean Dynamite and Nacho Libre fame.
Fame, fame, fame as Derryn Hinch said.
That’s what I heard anyway.
by eunmac on August 13, 2008
