Microsoft has developed an internal tool for its popular Kinect platform dubbed “Fusion.”
Thus far, Redmond hasn’t allowed the tool to be deployed externally, which is apparently designed to help developers create 3D models using Kinect.
However, the current policy is expected to change relatively soon, with recent reports indicating that Microsoft has committed to developing the Fusion tool and integrating it into the Kinect for Windows SDK.
Developers who take advantage of the tool will be able to develop augmented reality applications and enable the capturing of 3D measurements. The video below shows the tool in use capturing 3D models of multiple scenes, different devices and various objects.
It appears that the Fusion tool works quite well for capturing 3D models of people and inanimate objects. True, the objects do appear to lack some of the surface details, such as buttons on phone, but overall you can easily identify objects in the 3D models produced using the Kinect Fusion tool.
The platform is also capable of collecting a continuous stream of data as the Kinect sensor is moved around an object or around the environment – compiling relevant information into a 3D model. Personally, I could see Fusion being useful as a way to sketch a 3D model of yourself to be used as an in-game avatar.
