Some Uses of Image-Based Modeling
There's already quite a growing list of uses for IBM in production environments; some of the more evident roles it can play are the exact recreation. For example, architecture or archaeology sites where you can evidently immerse your viewers into a virtual 3D world with pinpoint accuracy, or the matching of camera perspectives for overlaying 3D over 2D elements for your compositing needs. In addition, some video game developers have adopted image-based solutions utilizing these techniques for fast creation of photorealistic backdrops or humanoid models.

The Software That Makes This Happen
Although IBM software has been around for quite a few years, the technology only recently matured enough to be considered production ready. This resulted in a number of prominent applications, which take a lot of the guesswork out of creating detailed models. The user essentially loads a photograph they wish to model, assign common reference points in the given software and the software analyzes the photos and creates the model based on that image.

There are several capable applications available to date that focus on IBM -- let’s take a look.

REALVIZ ImageModeler 3.5
Realviz has created a powerful IBM application that is now widely known amongst artists, photographers and architects alike. REALVIZ ImageModeler 3.5 has created a solution that measures your photographs from a few points of view and creates the 3D scenes based on those using polygonal methods. It uses special advanced algorithms that extract the 3D information using point-to-point measurements and at the same time it automatically takes the texturing info from photographs, which drastically reduces time. www.realviz.com

PhotoModeler
PhotoModeler is another versatile application that basically uses the same approach as ImageModeler; the software uses NURBS, among other modeling tools, for object creation and does in fact support a variety of output file formats for usage in other mainstream 3D or other software. By using PhotoModeler's Point, Line and Edge tools, you are able to mark features on imported photographs, which will then be used to generate the physical 3D models. www.photomodeler.com

Façade
Paul Debevec has conducted extensive research in image-based techniques and has used this knowledge to create an unreleased research prototype IBM dubbed Façade. Although it’s still in the prototype stages, its technology and functionality have been used as the source of inspiration for many products, including MetaCreation's product Canoma and RealViz's ImageModeler 2.0. As an additional note, Façade was used to model the interior of St. Peter's Basilica for Debevec’s film Fiat Lux in the SIGGRAPH 99 Electronic Theater.