A photo-modeling approach to restituting 3D model data from single 2D imagery for rapid prototyping of artifact products

This article first generalizes the basic engineering phases of modern rapid prototyping processes, and then describes the techniques of data capture for data modeling and model making. The article also provides a brief overview of the photogrametric techniques of restitution of 3D objects, and highlights the difficulties and limitations of existing methods. It therefore presents a novel approach to photo-modeling for acquiring 3D model data from single 2D photorealistic images. Implementation of the approach is then described against a background of rapid prototyping processes to demonstrate the effectiveness of photo-modeling practice.