New system creates instant 3D city models

A team based at UC Berkeley has developed a system that allows detailed 3D models of urban areas to be created almost instantly using data captured via lasers and digital cameras mounted on trucks or planes as they cruise through the city. The laser measures and records distances to objects as the camera snaps their pics, and the info is combined and post-processed to create detailed VR-type models, such as the downtown Berkeley model at right, which was created via a 26-minute drive and four hours of processing. The first customer is likely to be the U.S. military (natch), which helped fund the research. We assume it won't be long before this shows up where we want to see it: in urban combat FPS
games.