“However, that system requires a PC and other gadgets, making it hard to do any 3D scanning on the go”, Microsoft Research said.

“The great starting point was to take a sensor that everyone has in their pocket, which is the camera you have on your mobile phone”, said Shahram Izadi, a principal researcher on the project.

A team of researchers is now working on something called MobileFusion – which is aimed at creating an app for Android, iOS and Windows Phone which will use the smartphone camera to create a 3D model.

Also, the app promises to create high-quality photos that will be extremely useful in areas like augmented reality video games and 3D printing.

Peter Ondruska, a PhD candidate at Oxford University who worked on MobileFusion during an internship at Microsoft Research, explained that the system tracks the device in 3D by comparing live 3D data with previous frames captured.

Once a scan is complete, it’s rendered immediately, so users can see if they got the 3D image they desire.

What can you do with a 3D model made from MobileFusion?

Microsoft Research detailed the project today; the division says this technology could be used to capture a subject as a full 3D object using a smartphone, whether it is some aspect of an outdoors landscape, a person, or something you’re looking to print. The technology works by taking several pictures of a subject and combining them into a single 3D object. Each model was created during approximately 20 seconds of scanning on a mobile phone.

MobileFusion will be officially unveiled early in October at the worldwide Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, and could prove to be quite a significant breakthrough in allowing the digitalization of our planet. Unfortunately, MobileFusion isn’t available to the public just yet, nor are their firm plans in place to make it available in the near future.