{"65509":{"#nid":"65509","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Scientist Creates 3-D Scanner iPhone App","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELeave it to an iPhone app developer to turn a tool that cost\nhundreds of dollars a year ago into something that can be done with a 99-cent\napp. Grant Schindler, research scientist in Georgia Tech\u2019s College of Computing,\ncreated Trimensional, the first app that allows users with an iPhone 4, iPad 2\nor recent iPod Touch to take 3-D scans of faces or other objects and share them\nby e-mail. Now in the latest update, users can also e-mail animated videos of\ntheir 3-D models. For a few dollars more, artists and designers can even export\ntheir creation to CAD programs or 3-D applications, such as Maya.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETrimensional works by using the iPhone\u2019s screen to shine\nfour different lighting patterns on the subject while also using the device\u2019s\nfront-facing camera to snap photos.\u0026nbsp; It\nproduces a full 3-D model that you can zoom into, pan around and view from any\nangle. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou can just have fun with it, or if you work with 3-D\nmodels, you can use it professionally,\u201d said Schindler, a research scientist in\nTech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe program uses a technique that was originally designed in\nthe 1980s, but required an expensive set up of lights, a still model and a lot\nof time. But now, Trimensional has automated this process. The program works by\ntaking every pixel and asking the same question using four different lighting\nconditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf I take a scan of my face, the app asks \u2018what does the\nimage look like if I shine the light from the left side, what does it look like\nfrom the right side,\u2019 and so on. There\u2019s one three-dimensional answer per\npixel, and combining all those answers results in the full 3-D model,\u201d said\nSchindler. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the first version of the app, which was released in\nJanuary, users could send still images of their scans via e-mail. This update\nallows the app to stitch different views of a model together into a movie or an\nanimated gif and e-mail.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new pro upgrade for Trimensional (available as an in-app\npurchase) will also send a file that you can use any 3-D program to open, so\nartists and other 3-D professionals or hobbyists can now use this $5 app to\nperform a task that used to require hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere are professional, $40,000 3-D scanners out there;\nthis won\u2019t perform like those do, but for anything under $100, this is your\nbest bet,\u201d added Schindler.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETrimensional began as a program for a desktop computer in\n2008, using the screen to light the subject.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI thought surely someone had done this before, so I looked\nand no one had done it that way. It was amazing to really see it working,\u201d he\nsaid. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELater, Schindler entered it into\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Ethe Georgia Tech Research \u0026amp; Innovation Conference. He didn\u2019t\nwin, but being in the conference put him in touch with Tech\u2019s business\nincubator, the Advanced Technology Development Center. \u201cATDC provided\ninvaluable advice that helped turn Trimensional from an idea into a real\nproduct,\u201d said Schindler. When the iPhone 4 came out with the front-facing\ncamera, he thought, it\u2019s finally time to build an app.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the future, he imagines people being able to do more with\n3-D models. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOnce we get scanners in everyone\u2019s hands, you should be\nable to use these images for any use you can think of, replicating physical\nobjects by sending your scans to a 3-D printer, or creating a perfect digital\nsubstitute to take your video calls when you\u2019re not looking your best,\u201d said\nSchindler. \u201cOr you could put it on your World of Warcraft character, or use it\nin other games.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESchindler is now working on a version for the Android\noperating system. In addition, he\u2019s developing a chess game he created into an\napp. Do we really need another chess game app? Yes, we do, because this one,\ncalled Evolutionary War, has evolving pieces.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETrimensional uses the iPhone 4 or iPad 2 to create 3-D scans of objects.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Trimensional uses the iPhone 4 or iPad 2 to create 3-D scans of objects."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2011-04-11 16:26:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:34","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-04-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-04-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65506":{"id":"65506","type":"image","title":"Trimensional Photo 1 - iPhone, iPad 2 App","body":null,"created":"1449176831","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:11","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Trimensional Photo 1 - iPhone, iPad 2 App","file":{"fid":"193231","name":"11P1000-P44-007.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11P1000-P44-007.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11P1000-P44-007.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1899563,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/11P1000-P44-007.jpg?itok=RVCS250_"}},"65507":{"id":"65507","type":"image","title":"Trimensional Photo 2- How It Works","body":null,"created":"1449176831","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:11","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Trimensional Photo 2- How It Works","file":{"fid":"193232","name":"11P1000-P44-010.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11P1000-P44-010.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11P1000-P44-010.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2898451,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/11P1000-P44-010.jpg?itok=1FDyvVe3"}},"65508":{"id":"65508","type":"image","title":"Trimensional Photo 3 - 3-D Scan","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Trimensional Photo 3 - 3-D Scan","file":{"fid":"193233","name":"photo_2-01.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/photo_2-01.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/photo_2-01.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1842064,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/photo_2-01.jpeg?itok=WVADhayl"}}},"media_ids":["65506","65507","65508"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10553","name":"app"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"12751","name":"Grant Schindler"},{"id":"9290","name":"iPhone"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"id":"12750","name":"trimensional"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}