Abstract
In this paper a new technique is introduced for automatically building recognisable moving 3D models of individual people. A set of multi-view colour images of a person are captured from the front, side and back using one or more cameras. Model-based reconstruction of shape from silhouettes is used to transform a standard 3D generic humanoid model to approximate the persons shape and anatomical structure. Realistic appearance is achieved by colour texture mapping from the multi-view images. Results demonstrate the reconstruction of a realistic 3D facsimile of the person suitable for animation in a virtual world. The system is low-cost and is reliable for large variations in shape, size and clothing. This is the first approach to achieve realistic model capture for clothed people and automatic reconstruction of animated models. A commercial system based on this approach has recently been used to capture thousands of models of the general public.