Rapid 3D model acquisition from images of small objects

This paper describes a system for rapid acquisition of 3D models of objects for use in applications such as CAD and VR. The system consists of an image capturing platform, which comprises a PC-controlled turntable and CCD camera, and associated computer vision and graphics algorithms for 3D model acquisition. An algorithm for accurately recovering 3D points from image sequences is described. Experiments performed on synthetic and real data show that the algorithm is accurate in recovering the coordinates of 3D points and is robust against noise in 2D feature location and 3D object rotation. Results of applying the system to acquiring 3D models of real objects are illustrated.