A simple approach for point-based object capturing and rendering

Point-based object representations are a powerful alternative to traditional polygonal object representations. Capturing 3D geometry is a mission-critical content acquisition technique in application domains such as virtual reality, CAD/CAM, and physical asset management. We describe SPOC, a simple, point-based object capturing system we've developed to automatically capture and process 3D geometry for point-based image rendering. We also identify the problems involved and describe the technical solutions we've implemented. Finally, we address several algorithmic issues in capturing point models using a simple digital camera and turntable setup, and in processing and rendering point clouds.