Flickr photos made into 3D images of European cities

DeltaYankee · #1 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 02:56 PM

Data of various images uploaded by the public on Flickr were used by scientists and made into fly-through representations or 3D models of European cities or its famous landmarks. The scientists, who came from the University of Washington, used advanced photo analysis as well as advanced modeling techniques to create amazing images of the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and others famous landmarks in Rome and in Venice.

soulja · #2 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 03:17 PM

Wow, this sounds really interesting. But do you have sample of these 3D images?

FreeYaMind! · #3 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 03:34 PM

Being a big fan of Flickr, this has indeed made me curious. Yeah, I want to see sample images, too. Do you have it DeltaYankee?

DeltaYankee · #4 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 03:59 PM

Here’s The Colisseum in YouTube:
YouTube - JimanthaJ's Channel

AlvinJian · #5 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 04:15 PM

Yeah, I remember reading about this, too, and I thought it was amazing. Here’s an excerpt

Quote:

The team used a specially-devised algorithm to detect and arrange photos showing various angles of the same building. The same algorithm then analysed these images - taking into account the viewpoint of the photographer - to produce composite 3D models.

Rome's most famous landmarks were generated in less than 24 hours from 150,000 photos, while 250,000 images were scanned to make 3D models of Venice.

The method is basically an enhanced verison of Microsoft's Photosynth application, with processing improvements allowing modellers to turn their intentions to entire cities - starting with the historic centre of Dubrovnik….

"We can now process truly huge data sets - the big breakthrough here was being able to match the images fast," Sameer Agarwa, assistant professor at the University of Washington's Graphics and Imaging Laboratory told Popular Science.

The researchers say that they now plan to work on using still images to create photo-realistic 3D tours, rather than just sketchy models.

They hope to preserve threatened urban areas - like the sinking island-city of Venice - for future generations, and say that the technology could also be used to create hyper-realistic video games and GPS systems.

Ysczabel_Fernandez · #6 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 04:24 PM

Wow, very high tech! I tried to search for more in YouTube and also found the Trevi Fountain. Here it is:

YouTube - JimanthaJ's Channel

Energizer · #7 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 05:35 AM

I noticed arrows or pyramids surrounding the main image. What do they do? I find them distracting.

AlvinJian · #8 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Energizer

I noticed arrows or pyramids surrounding the main image. What do they do? I find them distracting.

The pyramids scattered all throughout the surrounding area indicate the location of the photographers who took the original images uploaded in Flickr. They show the different angles.

Energizer · #9 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 06:04 AM

Thanks for explaining. So that’s why.

FunTown · #10 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 05:05 AM

In one word... AMAZING!