Show HN: 123D Catch by AutoDesk – Create 3D scans of virtually any object

There&#x27;s documentation of a method to achieve the same thing using free-ish software here: <a href="http://wedidstuff.heavyimage.com/index.php/2013/07/12/open-source-photogrammetry-workflow/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;wedidstuff.heavyimage.com&#x2F;index.php&#x2F;2013&#x2F;07&#x2F;12&#x2F;open-s...</a><p>Principally it uses VisualSFM and Meshlab, both of which came to life as testbeds for algorithm research but are now useful in their own right. By all accounts 123D Catch does an excellent job, but is quite rigid in its workflow. Apparently it uses the engine from Acute3D&#x27;s considerably more expensive Smart3DCapture.<p>Sadly neither VisualSFM or 123D Catch are usable for commercial work because of license and copyright problems respectively.

So this came out a few years ago [1] and then it seemed like it just disappeared. This is the second or third thing I have seen on this in just a few days.<p>What happened in the interim?<p>[1] <a href="http://blog.123dapp.com/2011/12/3d-scanning-for-posterity" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.123dapp.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;12&#x2F;3d-scanning-for-posterity</a>

Just FYI, You must create account to have an imageset processed. This looks like it is happening server-side, so I suppose there&#x27;s a reason for it.<p>Cleverly enough, it doesn&#x27;t prompt you to do so until after you&#x27;ve taken the 10-20-however-many pictures of your object. I suspect this would make a hell of a difference over a login screen upon launch or capture.

Having worked with this kind of software solutions since the ninties I must say that you should really instead look into the software Photoscan from russian Agisoft (www.agisoft.ru) it&#x27;s alot more flexible and is very cheap ($129 usd)<p>This was called &quot;Photo Fly&quot; before when it was a &quot;Autodesks Labs project&quot; and I belive the tech originates from when autodesk bought the french software company RealViz that made the software Photomodeler.

Is this really a Show HN? Did you make this?

Autodesk&#x27;s 123D Catch has been available since 2012. This is just the phone app interface. All the real work is done on Autodesk servers.<p>It&#x27;s reasonably good if you take an organized set of pictures for it. A clean background behind the object of interest helps. The object has to have lots of edges for the algorithm to match; sculptured surfaces like cars may not match well. For some purposes, projecting a pattern of dots or lines onto the object is helpful. (The original Kinect did something similar).<p>Programs for this have been around for years. Most of the improvements have been in doing a better job of guessing about areas where matching edge info isn&#x27;t available.

If you&#x27;re looking for the professional, desktop based version of this software, it&#x27;s called Project Momento and is currently in beta<p><a href="https://beta.autodesk.com/callout/?callid=D69655022B4F42C880513D4E3085C7D0" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;beta.autodesk.com&#x2F;callout&#x2F;?callid=D69655022B4F42C880...</a>

It makes me think of the &quot;fabled&quot; (if you will) copy machine, where you basically xerox a physical object. Obviously it&#x27;s more complex than this, but it&#x27;s exciting to think about where the 3D model and 3D printing industries are headed, and specifically with development of their intersection

Is it similar to what Seene is offering? It doesn&#x27;t do full scale 3D but close. <a href="http://seene.co/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;seene.co&#x2F;</a>

FWIW this is a pretty cool app. Makes for an interesting way to generate 3D models of things without any training in using CAD or modelling tools.

everytime i glance at 3d software i have waking nghtmares on the state of spreadsheets and text editors in the 80s and 90s.<p>everyone praise every shenangan. companies couldnt care less about integration and dat portability, etc.

how long should i expect to wait? i&#x27;ve been waiting &gt;90 minutes already