Back at the end of April, I mentioned the impending release of a plugin for Google SketchUp that would allow you to quickly create 3D models from photos. Yesterday I received an E-mail from Brainstorm LLC, the makers of PhotoSketch, that their plugin is now available (Windows only for now, Mac version in the works). The plugin is available as a 30-day free trial (see pricing). PhotoSketch works by letting you use a succession of overlapping photos of buildings and, using PhotoSketch and SketchUp, you can easily use the photos to derive 3D models from them. Watch this video tutorial to see how it is done:
Now, where would you get a succession of photos in a drive-by or fly-by situation I wonder? Could you perhaps use photos from Google Street View to create 3D models? Or, how about YouTube videos in a drive-by scenario? It will be interesting to see if modelers, who are avid 3D building creators at the 3D Warehouse, latch on to PhotoSketch to create buildings faster. [UPDATE: Brainstorm tells me that Street View imagery is "generally not sharp enough, nor does it necessarily have the amount of overlap and coverage *around* the building to make it useful. Another problem is that we cannot calibrate their camera because we don't have access to it. Therefore, it is not possible to correct for radial lens distortion." So, apparently you need more accurate photo data to use PhotoSketch properly.]
