Digital Pygmalion

He and research colleagues have perfected a way to produce highly accurate 3D modelling using simple photographs.

The team have worked with prolific British installation artist Antony Gormley to produce a high resolution model of a life size sculpture which will guide its scaling up to over 25 metres high.

The Digital Pygmalion Project is the brainchild of Professor Roberto Cipolla, who together with Dr Carlos Hernandez Esteban has brought a handful of photographs to life with breathtaking results.

Roberto and Carlos visited the artist recently to take photographs of the sculpture of a crouching figure. High resolution colour photographs were taken of the sculpture in natural light. Silhouettes and main interest points were detected automatically in each of the pictures, and the position of the camera when each was taken was calculated.

The silhouette and texture in each photo are then used to guide the 'digital sculptor' to carve out the 3D shape. An accurate geometry and depiction of the appearance of an object is achieved automatically, resulting in a new approach to high quality 3D object reconstruction.

They then used their world leading computer vision techniques to construct a complete 3D model of the piece. Software allows the user to look at the sculpture from any viewpoint. The original texture of the sculpture can be overlaid on this skin. Lighting effects can be added. A full resolution image on a good screen looks perfect.

“Roberto’s work is unique in the world,” said Gormley. “It’s extraordinary to get a fully rotational model from a standard single-lens camera.”

The software was recently used to build a 3D model of a Henry Moore sculpture so that it can be viewed by potential buyers from around the world before its auction in London later this year.