City Rendered in 3D Using Photosynth, Flickr

A group of computer scientists from the University of Washington’s Graphics and Imaging Laboratory have created an algorithm that improves the technology behind Microsoft’s Photosynth to render massive environments in 3D.  The researchers scaled up Photosynth’s unique photo-cloud-to-3D-model computer code, allowing incredibly large data sets to build larger and larger environments.  Their study, entitled Building Rome in a Day (pdf link), states that their algorithm can process and render 150,000 images from a Flickr pool of an environment into a 3D model in less than a day.

The project started with famous landmarks in Rome, such as the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, but after realizing the possibilities of the technology, the team expanded to render the entire Old City in Dubrovnick, Croatia.  Once the software is perfected, the team can automate the creation of any 3D environment as long as enough photos are available online.  For a quick understanding of the Dubrovnick model, check out the flyby video created by the University of Washington team:

[via Gizmodo]