Autodesk Creates A 3D Model Of Its HQ Using An Octo-Copter And 2D Images (video)

Autodesk has this week released a demonstration of how its created a 3D model of its headquarters in San Rafael, California. using 2D images which it took using a Octo-Copter UAV(unmanned aerial vehicle). The technology used within the demonstration shows just how far 3D modelling has tralled since the first 3D rendering applications were introduced.

The Octo-Copter was equipped with Autodesks 123D Catch software, which has been designed to help simplify the process of making 3D models of large real-world structures.

Watch a video of the process and what was involved in the movie below. Enjoy! “This is our Mikrokopter Cinestar 8 used to capture still images and video for rendering purposes on our software 123D catch.”

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Google Tablet To Launch In July

It looks like Google is still planning on launching a Nexus tablet this year. It was first thought to be launching in May after production in April, bu now sources say that it won’t go on sale until July. The reason for the delay is because Google and Asus are trying to figure out how to manipulate the hardware so that the price can come down.
We previously thought that the new tablet would arrive for $249, but that’s not an official confirmation. The Kindle Fire is $199 and is selling great, plus there are still rumors of an iPad mini too, so they definitely want to compete and blow the lid off of sales if they can.

So getting the Nexus tablet on sale for a price below $249 seems like a must. The question is, can they do it?

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No More Beats Headphones For HTC Phones

Companies regularly have to cut costs in order to maximize profits, so sometimes extras have to go. In this case, HTC in an interview on Friday said that it won’t pack in Beats Audio’s earbuds or other headphones with at least some of its smartphones from here on out.
According to Product Executive Martin Fichter, the on-device Beats Audio processing will stay, but ordinary headphones at most would come in the box with models like the Evo 4G LTE and One series. It looks like customers just weren’t buying them for the headphones, so they will save some money.

Up until now Beats headphones came with phones like the Rezound and Sensation XL. The Beats headphones raised prices and made it difficult to compete. I don’t think most of us will mind since we all have headphones anyway.

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YouTube Auto Converting Uploaded Short 1080p Movies To 3D

Today YouTube is expanding their 3D service to now include any short videos that are uploaded. So rather than having to click a button to convert your short movie into 3D. YouTube will now automatically convert 1080p short movies directly to 3D as they are uploaded.

The new service will make it easier for YouTube users to now view movies in 3D by simply clicking on the “Gear” icon within the YouTube player to view it in glorious 3D. But don’t forget you will need to be wearing a pair of 3D glasses. YouTube explains:

To give you more dimension on 3D, here’s some background how the conversion technology works at YouTube. Since last September we’ve been constantly improving the underlying technology, which now uses several techniques:

We use a combination of video characteristics such as color, spatial layout and motion to estimate a depth map for each frame of a monoscopic video sequence. We use machine learning from the growing number of true 3D videos on YouTube to learn video depth characteristics and apply them in depth estimation. The generated depth map and the original monoscopic frame create a stereo 3D left-right pair, that a stereo display system needs to display a video as 3D

For more information on the new 3D technology being implemented by Google, jump over to the YouTube blogpost for more information.

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Wikipedia iOS And Android Apps Replace Google Maps For OpenStreetMaps

Wikipedia has announced this week that a new update for its iOS and Android application will remove the Google Maps integration the apps both use, and replace it with OpenStreetMaps technology.

As well as adopting the OpenStreetMaps technology the new updates rolled out to both iOS and Android applications brings a wealth of new features and tweaks which brings both app inline with each other.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. OpenStreetMap was founded in July 2004 by Steve Coast, and in April 2006, the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) was established to encourage the growth, development and distribution of free geospatial data and provide geospatial data for anybody to use and share. Wikipedia explains, that the move to remove Google Maps is to try and support as many devices as possible:

“Previous versions of our application used Google Maps for the nearby view. This has now been replaced with OpenStreetMaps – an open and free source of Map Data that has been referred to as ‘Wikipedia for Maps.’ This closely aligns with our goal of making knowledge available in a free and open manner to everyone. This also means we no longer have to use proprietary Google APIs in our code, which helps it run on the millions of cheap Android handsets that are purely open source and do not have the proprietary Google applications.”

For more information on the new updates and features included in both the iOS and Android Wikipedia applications jump over to the Wikipedia website bog post.

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Flickr Replaces PikNik Photo Editing App With Aviary HTML 5 Editing

In preparation for when Google pulls the plug on its Piknik photo editing service on April 19th. Flickr has now started to replace its Piknik editing application with Aviary.

Aviary is a HTML 5 styled photo editing application which also supports Apple’s iPad tablet, and will be rolling out across Flickr over the next two weeks, so if its not already in your ‘Actions’ menu yet, check back in a couple days.

The new Flickr Aviary photo editing feature has been designed in partnership with Aviary and has taken on board the request of Flickr users to provide a fast and simple way to edit photographs online.

“Speed. Editing a photo online should be fast. And we’ve worked very hard with the Aviary team to deliver a fast and uncluttered experience. Your photo loads and is ready to be edited in seconds.

Simplicity. Editing on Flickr should be simple and fun. With the Aviary editor, beginners will find that there’s almost no learning curve and more demanding users will appreciate the versatility of the tool. You can apply new app like filters, stickers, text, and save it back to your photostream with just a few clicks.”

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