NEW DIMENSION OF 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Description of new programs in the area of 3D image, 3D panoramas, 360 degrees virtual tours. Comparision of existing programs: Apple Computer Corp.Quick Time VR, Internet Pictures Corp and their photobubble technology, MGI Company PhotoVista, Anything3D Corp 3D PhotoBuilder etc

NEW DIMENSION OF 3D TECHNOLOGIES
Everyone got used to a high level of art and sound design of Web pages long ago. Much increased speed of Internet connection and new high performance multimedia formats made it possible to listen to the radio and to watch TV channels via Internet. Different VRML virtual worlds at Web surfing are also of no surprise.
And still first meeting with dimensional interactive images cannot leave you indifferent. At the last time interactive images as panoramic photos, three-dimensional images of objects etc. are widely spread. This style of performance of graphics images is actively used at real estate sale through Internet, presentation of new products, in car industry - for demonstration of car compartments, for effective sale of the every possible goods through , online stores, auctions and also in many other areas even in photojournalism.
It is easy to explain the reason of such popularity. Those who even once visited a 3D movie theatre should remember the way they felt. Nothing common with painting, instead of a flat picture - illusion of depth and participation to what is happening. A panoramic photo causes the same feelings. Just imagine that you can sit in a cockpit of Space Shuttle, examine all the details of a conceptual car compartment and admire a view of New York from the Empire States building, wander in the halls of the most famous museums of the world. Or just view a product which you want to buy via Internet. Isnt it a useful innovation? And if VRML allows to create three-dimensional scenes looking artificial enough, here we deal with photographic quality.
One of the most interesting trends in the world of technologies of three-dimensional Internet images is simplification of the process of picture shooting and further processing. It has become possible because of the essential development in the field of the software and appearing of simple and effective equipment for shooting. Now to create three-dimensional photos of professional quality you can use a usual digital camera and a minimum of additional equipment, for example, a tripod or a turntable. Modern algorithms of digital images processing allow to compensate uneven illumination, mistakes in camera settings and other difficulties. Thus today practically anyone can create a high-quality 3D image and place it in the Internet.
Now there are several technologies of creating 3D images that are developed enough and are supported by different companies that provide 360 degree" photo on the market. For each of these technologies the software and hardware solutions are designed.
The pioneer in this field is Apple Computer Corp. that has provided their Quick Time VR. Their technology allows to get a panoramic cylinder without a base, using approximately 16 images, combining them together and thus getting a panoramic image. This process is called Stitching. They also produced a special utility that captures frame by frame from video and digital cameras that are connected to the video input of the computer, and then combines all the frames and outputs them in the special Object QTVR Movie format.
Internet Pictures Corp. (IPIX) uses an original approach based on a special hardware solution. For making panoramic photos the so-called photobubble technology is offered. This technology allows to receive a panoramic snapshot on the basis of two 180-degree photos made by a wide-angle lens such as «the Fish eye». The received image can be viewed with IPIX Plug-in module. This plug-in allows to rotate the scene on 360 degrees horizontally and on 170 degrees vertically, it is possible to scale some selected areas of the image, to connect text fragments, hyperlinks and sound files to panorama areas. Unfortunately the hardware-software solution offered by IPIX for making panoramas is expensive enough and is narrow-specialized because of specific equipment used at shooting.

MGI Company produces PhotoVista software that is oriented on the end-user needs and small businesses. PhotoVista allows to stitch automatically several usual shots taken from one point. Doubtless advantages offered by MGI technology of making 3D images are a possibility of usage of usual photo equipment for creating panoramic images and also usage of Java Applet for viewing panoramas on Web-pages (Plug-in installation is not required).

Perhaps the most complete spectrum of equipment and software for making 3D photos and panoramas is offered by Anything 3D Corp. The equipment includes the line of turntables (from manual 7.5" up to motorized 39" that automatically control the process of shooting), pan heads for panorama shooting and other photo accessories that are used with both usual and professional cameras. 3D Photo Builder software allows to create all types of three-dimensional photos used today. As Anything3D Corp has announced the best technologies were united in this software product oriented on the end user.
Anything3D Corp technology as well as MGI technology allows to view 3D images with Java Applet without requiring any special plug-ins. Such solution has another advantage allowing to view virtual tours on any platform (Mac, PC) and with any operating system.
3D Photo Builder unites in itself advantages of different graphic software - photoalbum, stitching of 3D Panoramas, creating of 3D Images, graphical editor. At 3D photo market there has not been such level of integration yet and it favorably distinguishes 3D Photo Builder from its competitors.
The software stores initial images of each 3D photo as joined series and allows to make certain operations with all images of a series. For each series a preview is created, there is a possibility to specify additional information. The software has convenient Explorer-Style interface and allows to catalogue photos by different characteristics and to make searching. For convenience of the user recycled bin has been implemented.
As well as PhotoVista of MGI company 3D Photo Builder stitches a number of usual pictures in a panorama automatically. In the software creating of 3D Panoramas is supported by wizard style interface which allows to get the results after several simple steps and does not require from the user any special knowledge. At stitching process the parameters of shooting are found out automatically and thats why the user does not need to specify camera and lens brand and model as in PhotoVista. For advanced users there is a mode for manual selection of parameters. During stitching the algorithm automatically corrects brightness/contrast both for boundaries of stitching and for the whole panorama. In contrast to other software no additional manual processing of 3D Panorama is required in graphical editors after stitching such as correction of unstitched areas, correction of brightness, reconstruction of textures, etc. All these possibilities of the software essentially simplify the process of image processing. When the process of creating 3D panorama is over there is a possibility to set parameters of Java Applet and to view the results in a WEB-browser window.
As well as Object Modeler from IPIX company 3D Photo Builder creates three-dimensional scenes that allows to view the object from different sides. But in contrast to Object Modeler this software does not require any special Plug-in for preview on the Web. The process of creating 3D Image is based on joining up of several pictures made from a rotating object. This process is called Composing.
The software automatically selects the object, cleans the background and creates 3D image. The rest of the software requires a series already cleaned from background for making 3D images that is inconvenient because a series should be processed by a separate graphical editor. 3D Photo Builder allows to create 3D Images from just taken photos. You can also use a special wizard to create 3D Images. During the process the user should specify contrast of the object in accordance to the background, indicate the boundaries of the selected object, etc. When the process of creating of 3D image is over there is a possibility to set up Java Applet, to choose the speed of rotation and size of the object and also to view the results in a WEB-browser window.
Unfortunately 3D Modeling is not realized in the software. Because of this there is no possibility to export models in such popular programs of 3D Modeling as 3D Max or Metastream and also in the Quick Time VR format. It will be an advantage of the software if 3D Modeling is realized in the future versions of the software.

Tendencies of development of 3D technologies market allow to speak about essential expansion in the choice of technologies, availability of equipment and software, professional quality of 3D images. Now you can easily and simply create and publish in the Internet any 3D Image you like: a picture of your family, your house, your car, your pet, etc. It is evident that in the near future the open space of the Internet will be deluged with 3D technologies.