What is Structure from Motion?
With this 3D technology, you can use a normal camera to make a 3D scan of an object by moving around it and filming it. In this way, you can detect and measure all kinds of smart things in 3D, without the need for special 3D cameras.
The technology
With Structure from Motion, as the name suggests, you create a 3D structure by moving around an object. The video you capture with your phone is sent to a server that cuts the video up into all the individual images. Among those separate images, the software looks for similar groups of pixels and uses these to try to calculate where the camera was at a particular moment to place those pixels in a 3D space. In the end, this is how you create an entire 3D scan using less than a minute of film.
Applications
To measure is to know
With a 3D scan, you can detect all kinds of things, and if a scale can also be determined, you can measure it with millimetre precision. But even a shape can be determined to the millimetre.
Quality control
By comparing the 3D scan to a CAD model of the original, it is also possible to see where deviations are and to see whether there is any damage.
Sectors
- Industrial
- Logistics
- Retail
Example
Measuring height
You can measure children's height using a 3D scan. By recording a video all around a child, you create a 3D scan. In that scan, posture is detected and height can be determined to millimetre accuracy. This allows doctors and patients to know whether the administration of growth hormones is having the desired effect!
Pros and cons of Structure from Motion
Pros
- You can create a 3D scan without a special camera.
- The heavy computing is done by a server, which means you can carry on using your phone.
- The results of the scan can be used repeatedly.
Cons
- The object must remain stationary and you must move calmly and steadily while you record.
- The image must be uploaded to a server to be processed, which takes some time.
