Capture the world in 3D — Tablet camera captures geometry, not just stereoscopic images
No longer.
The Lynx A is a simple-to-use device that yields usable 3D models that work in most modeling, rendering, and animation applications. “ Instead of outputting 2D images, it produces 3D models of whatever you point it at,” saysLynx Laboratories. “It’s the world’s first point-and-shoot 3D camera.”
The basic idea is not new — for example, we’ve covered a free app from Autodesk that will make a model when you just move your iPad around a small object — but the implementation here is. The handheld camera, akin to a tablet PC, can be swept across a room… and then it generates 3D geometry, colors, and textures for everything it takes a picture of. It can also capture motion, generating wide-ranging movements that can be mapped onto animated figures.
The tablet measures 11.5x8x1 inches, and weighs six pounds. It has its own Intel Core i5 2.6GHz processor, 500GB drive, and a 14-inch LCD. It has a VGA-res imager and a 3D sensor for capturing depth information.
Austin, Texas-based Lynx is raising funding — on Kickstarter of course — by asking for $1,800 as an advanced payment for the basic model. That might seem like a lot, but it’s a fraction of the cost of most professional products on the market yielding similar results. “If you cobbled together all the hardware and software you would need to accomplish these tasks, you’d end up dishing out a couple hundred grand,” the company says. “That’s not accessible at all. The Lynx device sells for about the same price as a full-framed DSLR, making it a serious value for small outfits and innovators trying to break into these technologies.”
It’s also faster, they add: “Capturing models takes minutes, while today’s methods take hours or even days.”
More information, and a cool video, is here.
2-7-2013
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