Posthuman Blues

3-D Modeling Advance

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a Web service called Make3D that lets users turn a single two-dimensional image of an outdoor scene into an immersive 3-D model. This gives users the ability to easily create a more realistic visual representation of a photo--one that lets viewers fly around the scene.

(Via KurzweilAI.net.)

This could yield some fantastic applications for satellite space imagery; who could resist an immersive tour of Iapetus' equatorial "wall" or a close-up look at the Cydonia region of Mars?

Update: Bruce Sterling's posted some interesting YouTube demos. The technique is limited but still cool.