Semi-autonomous digitization of real-world environments

In recent years, the computational power and graphics capabilities of our computers and gaming consoles has advanced to the point that we can render photo-realistic realworld environments in real-time. This capability has been utilized to make immersive games, serious games, and simulations. While computers and consoles are affordable for the consumer, the technology used to scan environments can be too expensive or time-consuming for most developers. In this paper, we seek to find a viable low-cost alternative to these expensive technologies by analyzing the efficacy of cheap hardware (Kinect and personal cameras), computer vision algorithms (KinectFusion and structure-from-motion), and post-processing tools (MeshLab) in the context of a popular free game engine, Unity. Our results demonstrate workflows that are viable for the needs of many developers.