CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
16 March 2005
Product News
Raindrop Geomagic Receives U.S. Patent For Generating 3D Texture Maps From Color Points
Raindrop Geomagic has received a U.S. patent (patent # US 6,853,373 B2) for its unique process of converting 3D scanner output into a 3D model with accurate geometry, color and textures. The patented process generates a true 3D texture map, including normals, colors, displacement and bump maps for any shape.
Texture mapping has traditionally meant applying a 2D image onto a 3D model, then manipulating it to fit. It often requires warping, stitching of the map to cover different parts of the model, and other fitting and clean-up steps. In contrast, Raindrop Geomagic's texture maps are computed directly in 3D space. The process is automatic and instant when taking advantage of hardware texture support within graphics cards.
"Our software processes a 3D scanner's output - xyz coordinates and rgb color values - and automatically generates a dense 3D model with true texture maps," says Ping Fu, Raindrop Geomagic's president and CEO. "Users end up with a photorealistic 3D model without the time, effort and limitations of applying 2D texture maps."
Among the applications for Raindrop Geomagic's invention are creating new toys based on classic, time-honored favorites; designing unique consumer products with organic shapes and textures; recreating sculpture and art works faithful to their origins; and producing digital archives of archeological treasures.
The patent, titled "Methods, Apparatus and Computer Program Products for Modeling Three-Dimensional Colored Objects," is the fourth U.S. patent Raindrop Geomagic has received for its technologies, with four others pending.
Raindrop Geomagic is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and Asia. The company's technology is used in applications such as digital dentistry, historic preservation of the Statue of Liberty, redesign of a retro Harley-Davidson gas tank, and quality inspection to ensure that circuit breakers will last 400 years. More than 3,000 users worldwide turn to Raindrop Geomagic to provide the technology for customizing products, automating processes, and increasing throughput.
Please visit http://www.geomagic.com/news/press.releases/p050316.php3 for illustrations of this technology.
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