The mission is not new, there are applications that take 3D models from a simple mobile phone with camera. We also have a more demanding path led by the guys at Google and Project Tango , but there and we put cameras that capture the depth to which the result is much better.

Microsoft and its research and development departments do not want to be left out of any game, and are also creating applications that register such models with a simple smartphone and an ordinary camera. The project responds to the name of MobileFusion.

Microsoft wants your camera is able to capture more than 2D images. Having a 3D scanner, no additional hardware The ultimate aim is to achieve the parameters required to present a 3D printer, so you can create a decent copy. Obviously there may be other interesting applications.

In the demonstration tests are performed with a good camera phone, and over a few years, the iPhone 5S. What we implied that we can make the process almost any phone today, which incidentally is as easy as we can see.

The reality is that the models are not perfect, but given the means, I think that makes it better than other apps we had found us on the road. It seems sufficient quality to be used in mobile applications, we talk about augmented reality based games.

Who is developing MobileFusion? For works on iOS, Android, Windows Phone also. There are still no plans to release it publicly, but this has to be an end sooner or later.