I've been playing around with the kinect trying to get it to work as a 3d scanner. So, far the results go from underwhelming to promising. The question is not whether the Kinect can work as an adequate 3d scanner for many uses, but rather the lack of software capable of doing it in a manner that doesn't require rigging the kinect or multiple tries, or stitching scans together. In other words the goal and the only goal I'm interested in is a scenario by which you simply pick up the scanner, adjust it in software for the area you want it to scan (bounding box), and then simply rotate it, or the object inside that box, and output a 3d mesh.
Currently no program is complete in that regard.
The best as far as probably ending in a final product that would fulfill most of that is the kinfu implementation based on cloudpoints.org reconstruction of the microsoft kinectfusion demonstration and paper. It does a pretty good job of keeping things aligned when you are free form scanning. All the others I've tried can not keep aligned as you move the kinect around, even if you move it at an agonizing slow rate. So, if you are trying to scan an object and only need the 3d data, then kinfu is for you. Right now I just have a version compiled by someone else, in that version there isn't any color data in the output. You can save it as a ply file or in there new pcd format, but right now, the only one I've used is the ply format, as none of the programs support their format.
There is currently no option to mesh or do anything to the point cloud in kinfu, so what I'm using is Mesh lab. Once it is in mesh lab you can turn it into a mesh, and from there I'm currently importing it into sketchup, because I'm new to all this and that is where I'm at in my level of knowledge. Blender just doesn't make sense to me yet, but that is a free program that is probably better suited.
Here is me using skanet to attempt to 3d model my desk, the frame to frame 3d modeling works well enough, however, it simply loses it, when you start to turn or ever jerk the kinect. In the end, the present implimentation is far far to sensitive and prone to errors in the 3d model to make it usable for me, in any use other than a simple straight on non moving scan.
You can see how slowly I'm trying to move, and there are still 3d anomalies being produced.
Here is Kinfu, it seems to track quite well overall, but the build I have doesn't show color data at all, and it only scans a smaller area. This is because supposedly it is all done on the GPU, and in order to use it at all you need an nvidia card, and the card has to have over 750megs of memory and cuda support, though all of that is really just determined by this build, and I haven't tried at all to change any options when loading it, so you may be able to pass some parameters. I don't know.
I made some adapters to allow me to mount fluorescent lamps to my regular floor lamp, I then installed UVC bulbs instead of regular flourescent ones, having attached 6 of these to the pole of the lamp, I made myself a relatively cheap and portable and relatively strong germicidal flea killing lamp.
I don't know if I could have got these adapters from the store or not, and I'm sure I could have rigged something, but I didn't I made them on me 3d printer.
UVC is pretty cool stuff, it disables bacteria, and reportedly kills fleas and their eggs which is why I wanted to make one.
Here's a video of my UV-C lamp, I think it's pretty cool. The cost of each of the ballast was like 10.00 from wal-mart, I can't remember what the bulbs costs, I got them from amazon, and the lamp is a cheapo from walmart. The plastic used to print the adapters I doubt ran a dollar. I don't think you could get a commercial 360 degree UV-C room illuminator for less than what this cost.
Oh, I also have a 30 minute timer switch I use to control it, so as not to have to expose myself to the UVC while it's running as it isn't good for humans or animals to be directly exposed to it.
Well, I've started my latest experiment, which is youtube, and I have to tell you it appears that it will be quite possible to make a middle class income from youtube alone.
Now, thus far I only have like 11 videos up there, and almost all of them are simply me trying to get my bearing straight, as in I'm by no means got my "sh*t" together at all, and 90% of my time thus far has been experimenting and trying to find the requisite software, and equipment to do what I want to do.
Even with that said, I've just had my first over 1.00 earned in one day day. Now, I know how the typical brain will look at that, and laugh, however, I've yet to even trully start. This is identical to websites, you start making like .50 then 1.00 then 3.00 then people smirk when you gleefully report your progress, because nearly everyone it seems is blind to trends and seeing potential and solely focused on the day to day returns, and when that 1.00 turns to over a 100 a day, then they start to be interested, but still aren't inspired, then that turns into 150 a day, and then they want to jump on the bandwagon but it's to late then.
So, thus far I've probably put probably a month into researching this stuff, testing software, familiarizing my self with the youtube "eco system", I've got well over a 1000.00 dollars in buy stuff, and eventually I will probably end up spending 10000 dollars. And most likely it will take 6 months or longer to see a living wage from it, and most likely a year to see the dollars / hour everyone is fixated on reach even near minimum wage.
However, after a year I'm sure I will be making enough to call it an income by itself.
And then people as it always seems to work will say I'm lucky, and that they would like to do that for a living, and generally make up any excuse why they don't do it. LOL.
Anyway, no one even needs to spend 1000 bucks really, you could start for virtually nothing, and simply make a video a day, then buy better stuff. So, if a person has 2 hours extra a day to work on something you could make money on youtube with a little imagination.
So, yeah, broke the 1.00 barrier, which in my experience is just as hard as breaking the 5.00 barrier, which is as hard as the 10.00 barrier, which is as hard as the 50.00, which is as hard as the 100.0, which is as hard as the 150.00 and so forth from my previous experiments in the digital economy.
Okay, well, I just wanted to post this, as part of my multi-threaded exploration of making my in this new economy.
I'm not just doing this by the way either, I'm also do other stuff in this experiment, but I have enough "proof" of the youtube economy, to make me feel it is a valid venture.
I started an intrade.com account less than 2 months ago, I only put in a 100 bucks, but so far I've realized over 76 dollars in increase, and that is after the 4.99 monthly charge for each month which so far has been 9.98, so actually I made like 86 bucks from trading up there. Essentially like 43% a month so far.
Now, I don't expect that to continue, but that was over multiple trades, as in I didn't just get lucky once, and I don't go all down either. The thing about intrade is it's sort of like the stock market but not entirely, and it's sort of like betting but not entirely. You can get a pretty good idea of who is going to win, and make very low risk buys/sells, and garner a fair return for little risk, and the reason that is, is because there seems to be more people in that market emotionally invested in what they are buying/selling than when it is a company.
Also, the swings on intrade are pretty wide, as in you can make a 10% return on your invested amount sometimes within minutes or hours. I just made a low volume trade today for 4.00 and turned it into 6.00 in like 30 minutes. So, jumping in and out of a market and not holding seems to be a good strategy as well.
Also, I do believe political campaigns purchase or sell up there for their particular candidate, while on the face of it this may appear bad (distorts odds for a while), if you can keep your eye on the polls and general happenings you can make money off these pumpers and dumpers fairly easily, as in all markets they tend to correct eventually.
Anyway, I work on the computer all the time, and really can access their site anytime as well, so that probably gives me an advantage as well, but so far at this rate, I'd own the universe in about 10 years at this level of compounding, and that is the other thing, I doubt I could maintain such returns on a 100 thousand dollars either, as it's one thing to jump in with 10 shares and jump out, quite another to do that with a 1000 shares or 10000, the market simply isn't deep enough. So, if anything, this intrade appears to me a very good way, (if you can emotionally detach yourself from the candidates), to make probably thousands of bucks a year during election season, and if you sit at a computer all day or alot there is little effort involved especially if you watch political news already.
In the very near future, when 3d printers are developed to the point to where printing an object is equivalent to the itunes store, as in you go browse for items to print, then download the 3d file to allow 1 print per purchase, and then just walk away why it prints, and I'm guessing most likely the cost will be .99 per item, maybe 1.99 with inflation and all that, that the IP (intellectual property) crackdown will make todays music, movies, and software piracy war look like a small tap on the bottom.
Now, most will say that will not happen and 3d printers are just a nerd thing, and corporate thing, well you are 100% wrong, I'd bet 10000 dollars there will a million 3d printers well before 20 years from now, I'd guess a lot more, but I'd bet there will be a million in the US within 20 years. It's the same as the Internet, I got my first internet connection when it was charged by the minute, it was stupid crazy slow, there wasn't much up there, but the potential was complete obvious to anyone that thought about it for a while. Also, there was no restrictions really, if you found a song on the internet you could download it, as the internet was composed of so few people, and the connections were so slow the damage was minimal to companies. So, it was nerds, and only nerds had it, and only nerds really cared about it, then fast forward 20 years and everyone has the internet, multiple internet plans in fact, it's everywhere, the RIAA, MPAA etc... all are crazy in trying how to protect their "property". Same thing with computers themselves, that started revolution started in 70's, as far as home pc's go, and didn't become, unnerdy until the 90's.
Point is it is going to happen, and 3d printers will be able to print multiple materials of different characteristics at the same time as well, so break the notion that the current 3d printers will be representative for very long, eventually they will also print conductive material as well, they will print spongy type material, plastics, etc.., all in one machine, and during the same build. So, you will be able to do quite a lot with one.
So, now think about it, what can be printed eventually, and what markets will that destroy or leave little left but the intellectual property, which would be the actual design specs.
Well, I've not made a list but I'll spew off some stuff.
Brushes, combs, tweezers, spoons, forks, knives, essentially every kitchen utensil, Furniture, Wall mounts, camera mounts, tablet holders, vehicle interiors, vehicle lights, vehicle body shells, clothing, shoes, christmas ornaments, every holiday ornament, mask, floor tile, floor trim, picture frames, paintings, lamps, window frames, Battery chargers, and that's what I think will be possible within 20 years, now at some point maybe within 20 years, but probably not, you will be able to print microscopic detail, which leads to printing up things like a complete relatively complicated working electronic item from your home. It sounds crazy but this will happen, I've never been more sure of anything. Now, electronics on the cutting edge, requiring nanometer detail, will be safe for some time, longer than I'm concerned with, in all likely hood, but stuff like alarm clocks, watches, single purpose electronic items will be possible.
So, what are the implications, when you can print out like 60% of the items available in Wal-mart today without leaving your house? I'll tell you what is going to happen, they are going to clamp down so hard on anybody dealing in unauthorized cad drawings it'll make your head spin, as you are talking about 100's of billions of dollars a year market here, and yeah, I know what people will say but it's cheaper to buy the mass produced version at wal-mart than the printed one, well it won't be forever, and for some things it isn't now, as in those things that gain almost there whole value from the design exclusively, like the camera mount I just printed on my 3d printer (it actually was open source, creative commons license, so I didn't break the law), well going by what other camera mounts cost it would have run me 10 bucks, I didn't use 10 dollars of plastic and electricity to make it, also if I had went to the store and purchased it, it would have cost a dollar in gas to get there, it would have taken 30 minutes of my time to go there find it and come back, but they don't even sell it locally, so I'd have to search for it on ebay, then buy it and pay 10 bucks, then wait for 3-7 days to get it. Also, I'm going to modify this camera mount now, to fit for my exact need, as in fit it to fit in my jeep perfect, fit another one to record my makerbot prints, fit another to put on my ar drone. So, my point is it's already cheaper to print some things than to buy mass produced versions, because of the cost of shipping that thing, packaging that thing, then hanging that thing on a store shelf for weeks or months waiting for the eventual buyer to come get it, so the cost isn't merely material cost when comparing to retail, also retail can't stock all the stuff people would want, ever, like a camera mount for every type of vehicle, or every RC toy, that fits them perfectly.
I tend to ramble.... but back to the theme.
I'm certain that when faced with a 100 billion dollar loss in sales or more, these manufacturers, retailers, and designers are not going to simply yield to the tide of progress, but will buy off the politicians and get sentences that are like 20 years for printing an unauthorized design, as it will be the only way to ensure a functional economy under the current model, and even the most extreme liberals aren't really ready for a real shift in the economy.
So, I guess, my point is tomorrow is just around the corner, and if one wants a place in it, one needs to see the writing on the wall well before it's not "nerdy", and the writing states "design is the money of the future", whereas today it is design, and capital to fund 100 million dollar manufacturing plants, it will eventually be primarily design only. So, position yourself is my view of the situation. I do think retail is ultimately a dead model, probably before I'm dead, there won't be a wal-mart store in existance, like they exist today. Now, there will probably be some form of grocery stores, but everything else, I doubt it, there will most likely be businesses that have very large "printers" for printing out things like boats for you, but retail, it's just a dumb concept really. Amazon? I don't know, they will have little place.
So, I'm saying developing intellectual property that you own exclusively is really the only long term path to economic security going forward, as where are the jobs when the need for retail dimishes to like 20 percent of todays level? I'll tell you where, it's in designing stuff, or making entertainment, information content for others, it's all intellectual property in the next 20 years, mark my words.
It sort of scares me a bit, the thought that someone will most likely go to jail at some point for printing an unauthorized picture frame, or broom, but it will happen, guarantee it. I think most jobs today won't exist in 20 to 30 years either, so if you aren't going to be retired in 20 years, maybe one should think about the future impact this will have, and what it would mean to you.
Well, my mind just got going again on this subject, because for the last week or so I've been printing with my makerbot 3d printer, and my mind is going nuts with all the things I could make now, and thinking about even 5 years from now, when I'm sure these printers or a new version of them will print 10 times more precisely, and faster, and cheaper. I mean I can make quite a bit of things, I've had a need for now, and to be honest while the current crop of 3d printers are pretty good, they are nothing compared to the potential, like having a 33 mhz computer, and thinking what you could do with a gigahertz, as when computers were 33 Mhz 1 gigahertz was the limit of what one could grasp. For example, I have a sony receiver that has little stupid connections on it, it will be trivial to print them now, Speaker wall mounts, they want 20 bucks for them in the store, it won't cost me 3 bucks to make my own. Actually most likely I'll find someone elses version and print or modify it. There are few things in this world I'm sure of but 3d printers being the future is one of them, and trying to get a grasp on the implications, and how to get in that game before it's overrun has me thinking.
To put it simply 3d printers of today are to what the internet was in the early 90's. Same thing will happen. It really is, just think about computers, at first only megacorps had them, same thing with 3d printers, they've had them for quite a long time, but they were super expensive, then the personal computer came, few had them or saw the point, then over time more and more and more people got them, until now it's probably considered child abuse not to have one.
Same thing people.
Well, I'm done rambling, I'm working on some designs, hehe, trying to get better at this stuff.
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