Epic Games’ RealityScan app, which lets you scan real objects and turn them into 3D models for video games or other projects, is now official Available for iOS As a free download after an initial limited beta launch in April. The app can be a useful tool for recreating objects from the world around you without having to build them yourself from scratch
To “scan” an object in the app, take several photos of it from as many angles as possible. As you walk by and photograph objects, RealityScan helps display each photo you take in augmented reality, as well as a heatmap of where the object needs more coverage. You can preview the scan directly in the app to see how it will look before exporting it there scoutchab, a platform for sharing 3D models. (Epic says anyone who uploads a RealityScan scan to SketchFab gets a free year. SketchFab Pro.) From Sketchfab you can import the model into apps like Epic’s Unreal Engine
I have played with the limited trial and final app and it is very easy to use. My sweeps weren’t great, but I wouldn’t stock many of them; I’m using the iPhone 12 mini, which doesn’t have the best camera, and I don’t think the lighting in my house is ideal for these scans.
For now, RealityScan is only available for iPhone and iPad, but Epic says an Android version is in the works for 2023.
The app is the latest in Epic’s growing suite of tools for developers to create 3D objects. The company’s impressive MetaHuman technology was recently used to create lifelike recreations of NBA star Luka Doncic, for example. More than half of the announced next-gen games will be built on the Unreal Engine, Epic said in November, and things like RealityScan and Metahuman Creator could help those developers create new games.
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