US Patent 6980690 Image processing apparatus

A 3-D model of an object is created by processing images taken from a series of camera positions. An initial sequence of the images is processed to define respective image co-ordinates of matching features to generate a set of model data defining model points in a 3-D space of the model and to obtain respective camera solutions representative of positions and orientations of virtual cameras in the 3-D space defining views of the model corresponding to the images. A new image is added to the sequence and processed to obtain a camera solution for a corresponding new virtual camera for use in generating further model data.