This 3D model showcases a classic, vintage-style fire hydrant on a cobbled pavement, with all of its parts – from valves to nozzles – and even cracked paint and other signs of wear and tear faithfully recreated in full color. Stunning realism was achieved via AI Photogrammetry, a market-first feature that made its debut in the latest edition of the Artec Studio software, letting you easily turn photos into accurate 3D models.
To create this dazzling digital twin, the hydrant was photographed with a DSLR camera from different angles, and the photos were then fused in Artec Studio. Thanks to the software’s efficient reconstruction algorithms and the exhaustive capture of all surface elements, even hard-to-reach areas came out crisp and sharp in the final 3D model.
Artec Studio is packed with smart tools that streamline a range of 3D data pipelines, from 3D modeling to inspection to reverse engineering. This particular one started with importing photos into Artec Studio, followed by setting a bounding box to leave out any objects photographed alongside the hydrant that you wouldn’t want to see in the final model. A high-density point cloud was then generated to make sure the finest features and textures were thoroughly reconstructed, and the mesh was optimized, preserving its quality while reducing the number of polygons it consisted of. Finally, the 3D mesh model was textured in 4K resolution.
If you give the model a spin, you can explore its fascinating details. For example, the hydrant's surface is not perfectly smooth but has a textured, slightly rough finish. You can even see some areas where the red paint has faded, revealing the underlying metal surface, or spot a small, circular inspection plate on its side. The cap on top of the hydrant is slightly rusted and features a faint imprint of the manufacturer's logo or name. The cobblestones around the hydrant are also rendered realistically, with every crack and roughness of the stone visible, as well as the blades of grass pushing through the gaps. This level of detail, otherwise impossible to achieve, makes the 3D hydrant amazingly realistic.
This fire hydrant is a perfect example of a picture-perfect 3D model you can make with nothing but your camera images and Artec Studio. In less than an hour, you get a digital replica you can immediately use in applications ranging from VR and game development to additive manufacturing. Zoom on in to make sure there's not a detail missed.
