A specialized software is used to turn photographs into a 3D model.
It compares many images at once and calculates the shape of the object in three dimensions.
The object is photographed from many angles, ensuring that each photo is partially aligned with the previous one, making 3D space easier to recognize in digital form for the software. Images of the front and the back are organized into separate groups, called chunks.
This helps the software process each side of the object more accurately.
The software searches for shared features across the photographs. Based on these matches, it calculates the camera positions and creates a Sparse Point Cloud, which represents the basic structure of the object through 3D points.
Points with large errors or unnecessary data are removed. The camera alignment is refined to improve accuracy before moving on to the next stage.
Using the refined alignment, the software generates a Dense Point Cloud. This contains many more points and describes the object’s shape in much greater detail.
Unwanted elements such as the background or supports are manually removed from the Dense Point Cloud.
This step is essential before building the surface.
The Dense Point Cloud is converted into a Mesh, a connected surface made of many small polygons, which are 2D planes that form the mesh.
This step transforms points into a continuous 3D form.
Capturing images of an object in a single position often results in parts of the object being less visible, prompting placement in different positions to capture all parts. These images are turned into different chunks in the software and the chunks of the images are separately turned into meshes. These meshes from different chunks, such as the front and back, are aligned and merged into a single model.
The result is a complete and unified 3D object.
Finally, color and surface details from the photographs are projected onto the Mesh to create the Texture.
This gives the 3D model a realistic appearance.
The finished 3D model can be rotated, enlarged, and examined in detail without handling the original object.