There are several ways to produce 3D models of real-life objects and Autodesk has provided another one: Photofly. This is a service and software combination, in which you take around 50 overlapping photographs of your subject and then upload them to Photofly. The service then grinds through some very serious processing to produce detailed 3D models. Models you can 3D print, with a bit of fixing up (like adding a flat base, etc.)You can not only capture 3D models of objects, but also interior rooms, whole buildings and of course, heads and faces. There are a number of constraints on the imagery, including correct exposure, avoiding unnecessary backgrounds, movement, obscuring objects, transparencies and shinies, etc. However, this still leaves a great many possibilities for scanning.
It works through a Windows-only program, the Photo Scene Editor, now available for download. It’s only a preview and will expire at the end of 2012, however, but that allows plenty of time to produce a lot of models. At the moment they can produce point clouds, but apparently will soon release a version that produces a true 3D mesh.
