Interactive 3-D indoor modeler for virtualizing service fields

This paper describes an interactive 3-D indoor modeler that effectively creates photo-realistic 3-D indoor models from multiple photographs. This modeler supports the creation of 3-D models from photographs by implementing interaction techniques that use geometric constraints estimated from photographs and visualization techniques that help to easily understand shapes of 3-D models. We evaluated the availability and usability by applying the modeler to model service fields where actual workers provide services and an experience-based exhibit. Our results confirmed that the modeler enables the creation of large-scale indoor environments such as hot-spring inns and event sites at a relatively modest cost. We also confirmed that school children could learn modeling operations and create 3-D models from a photograph for approximately 20 min because of the easy operations. In addition, we describe additional functions that increase the effectiveness of 3-D modeling based on knowledge from service-field modeling. We present applications for behavior analysis of service workers and for 3-D indoor navigation using augmented virtuality (AV)-based visualization realized by photo-realistic 3-D models.