3DSOM Pro Feature List

On this page:
Masking functions
Geometry functions
Photography
Texture functions
Export
System Requirements
Compatible Software

This is just a brief list of the main features of 3DSOM Pro. For more details click on the tutorial links by each item or click here to view the contents section in the online User Guide.

Professional GUI - wizards help you to easily find and use the extensive set of modelling functions.

Extensive Feature Set - 3DSOM Pro includes a host of features for building 3D surface geometry from silhouettes (masked photos) and stereo (via a "point cloud"). A powerful set of geometry editing tools are now included to refine the results. A texture map can be built automatically and interactively edited for fine control. The models can be exported in standard formats or published as web pages which can be viewed in almost any desktop web browser without downloading a special plugin.

Powerful masking tools

rough sketch
shrink-wrapped
  • Automated masking capability - (see Masking the images section in the online User Guide).
  • Interactive threshold selection for automatic masking - (see Fine tuning the automasking section in the online User Guide ). Lets you quickly find a good threshold for automatically cutting out the object shape.
  • Shrink Wrap tool for semi-automatic masking (see Manual masking with the shrink-wrap tool section in the online User Guide). Just provide a rough sketch of the outline of the object and let 3DSOM Pro do the rest.
  • Complete set of manual masking tools including fill tool, polygon tool, circular brush tool, square brush tool. See Reference: The Edit Masks Window section in the online User Guide.
  • Snap to edge smooth curves - An additional masking tool for defining a boundary curve for fill operations. The curve can be "snapped" to the image to allow fast and accurate masking of images taken without a clean backdrop.
  • Improved support for 3rd party mask editing via 4 channel TIFF and PNG suitable for Adobe PhotoShop and JASC Paint Shop Pro. (see Editing the masks in an external application section in the online User Guide).

Surface Generation

Starting Surface (left) and Point Cloud (right)
Optimised using cloud (left) textured (right)
Toy car with matched 3D curve features
  • Fast precise wireframe generation - retains the 3DSOM patented "shape-from-silhouette" engine, with no voxel grid aliasing.
  • Point Cloud Generation - For highly patterned objects (e.g. natural wood, stone etc) you can automatically create a point cloud. The resulting 3D cloud of points can then be used to improve the model using the optimisation tool. You can also use this feature with plain objects by using two or more cameras and a digital projector to project a stripe pattern onto the object. This allows the software to handle concave regions that can not be recovered using silhouettes alone. (See Generating a 3D Point Cloud section in the online User Guide).
  • Surface Optimisation Intelligently smooths away artefacts in the silhouette-based geometry without compromising accuracy. Also improves model accuracy to fit point cloud data if available. Allows much more accurate relighting for added realism. (See Optimising the surface geometry section in the online User Guide).
  • Curve feature matching - Instead (or in addition to) automated point cloud generation, you can manually mark curved line features on the object in several photographs to create a 3D (point-sampled) line to guide the 3D model optimisation.
  • Subdivision Surface fitting - automated fitting of a smooth subdivision surface for unbelievable geometry compression and additional improvements to the surface appearance. (See Compressing the geometry with subdivision surfaces section in the online User Guide).
  • Model a part of a complex object - using a set of photographs of a complicated object (e.g. a camera), 3D SOM Pro now allows a single textured part (e.g. the camera body) to be modelled separately. This can result in substantially improved model quality.
  • Improved integration with existing 3D modelling packages - Edit or create the surface geometry in a standard 3D modelling package. Then import back to 3DSOM Pro for texturing. (See Editing the geometry in an external application and Texturing a CAD model). Large meshes can be imported in STL, OBJ or 3DS formats for automatic texturing from photographs.
  • Interactive mesh decimation to reduce polygon count to required level.
  • Interactive Geometry Editing: A range of 3D editing tools are now included to allow the 3D surface to be easily modified. These include smoothing or optimising a defined region, flattening a region, push or pulling the surface, cutting out extruded regions and Boolean addition of extruded shapes. (See Interactive Geometry Editing Tools section in the online User Guide).
  • Hollowing out concave regions: In addition to the above tools a sophisticated "hollowing" toolset allows users to easily model bowls, cups, jugs, vases and similar objects which were previously difficult to model using 3DSOM Pro alone. (See Interactive Geometry Editing Tools section in the online User Guide).

Photo taking

before and after lens correction
  • Lens correction - Many zoom and wide-angle lenses distort the image so that straight lines appear curved. This can reduce the accuracy of photo based modellers. 3DSOM Pro now includes a special module for correcting lens distortion. Many cameras (with built-in lenses) are automatically handled with no user input. Now you can build high quality 3D content with a standard low-cost digital camera.
  • Mat-free modeling - For large objects which can not be photographed using the 3DSOM Pro mat, a manual "marker" system is provided allowing the user to handle sequences taken without any reference object in the scene. Instead the user must manually identify features in the photos using a new interface that makes this process very straight forward (see Creating a 3D model from photos without using a calibration mat section in the online User Guide).
  • Semi-automatically merge in additional shots using 3DSOM Pro's patented interface (see Adding texture underneath an object section in the online User Guide).
  • Merge multiple scans - using the alignment wizard to accurately model the underside of the object (see Merging multiple scans section in the online User Guide).
  • Mat printing function to create calibration mats on an ordinary printer at any size.
  • Accepts up to 256 input images per project as JPEG, BMP or PNG.
  • Fully automatic, robust camera calibration to identify camera position and orientation.
  • Support for hardware imaging rigs - fixed camera rig with turntable can be precalibrated using the 3DSOM calibration mat. Images can then be repeatedly captured without the need for the printed mat making masking more straight forward.

State-of-the-art Texturing Tools

  • Fully automatic texture map creation - automatic UV unwrap. 3DSOM Pro texture maps are now designed for optimal compression.
  • Incremental texture map generation - allows you to watch the process and stop as soon as the desired quality is obtained. (See Adding the surface texture section in the online User Guide).
  • Texture map editing - patented texture editing approach. Rotate the current model, and then paste the rendered view into any image editor to touch up the textures by hand. (See Editing the textures section in the online User Guide).
  • Layered editing 3DSOM Pro can now align the copied view with an input image for additional fine control (see Advanced texture editing section in the online User Guide).
  • Texture "Fix" brush - A very simple brush tool is supplied to help fix common texturing glitches using image data from the closest input photograph. The size and softness of the brush can be controlled. (See Spot fixing the textures section in the online User Guide).
  • Instant Texture Preview 3DSOM Pro allows the user to quickly preview the model prior to building any texture maps using the closest input photograph to provide texture (colour appearance) data. This helps when editing the geometry prior to building the final textured mesh.
  • View-dependent texturing To capture interesting lighting effects you can utilise all the input images. Because there is still an underlying 3D model, users can still view the object from any angle and have the model quickly streamed over the web. (See View-dependent textures section in the online User Guide).
  • User chosen texture map resolution up to 4000 pixels square.
  • Tone correction option to compensate for exposure differences between images.

Save and Export

  • Output to industry standard formats (including VRML, 3DS, Shockwave3D, X3D, OBJ, STL) for importing into 3D packages such as 3D Studio Max or publishing straight to the web (see Exporting the finished model section in the online User Guide).
  • High spec. 3D viewer applet Compact redistributable Java 3D viewer renders backgrounds, shadows, relighting, smooth shading, and antialiasing. Support for subdivision surfaces and view-dependent textures. 3DSOM Pro's patented approach allows a conventional texture map to be quickly downloaded followed by extra view-dependent texture data for improved model appearance.
  • Flash 3D export Compact redistributable Flash 3D viewer allows models to be easily exported as a Flash movie. Supports model streaming and compression and full screen display. Click for more info...
  • Web optimizer - tool for optimised plugin-free web export using 3DSOM Flash or Java viewer applet. Highly compressed models with streamed textures. (See The Web Optimizer tool section in the online User Guide ).

System Requirements

3DSOM Pro runs under Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 7.

We recommend the following spec for a PC to run 3DSOM Pro:

  • CPU x86 compatible, PC/AT compliant
  • Dual core or Quad core processor
  • Monitor resolution 1024x768 minimum (small system fonts)
  • Physical RAM: 512MB minimum, 1GB or greater recommended
  • Mouse and Keyboard

To run on a Mac you will need an Intel based Mac and a copy of Windows. NOTE: 3DSOM Pro has been developed for Windows Operating System so to run on a Mac you need to run Windows under OS X Boot Camp, VMware or install Parallels Desktop. We plan to have a native Mac OS X port in future.

Compatible Software

These are just some of the applications that can load models exported from 3DSOM Pro If you know of other compatible software, then please let us know.