Autodesk Announces Stitcher Unlimited 2009 and ImageModeler 2009 

Stitcher Unlimited 2009 helps create wide-angle and panoramic images in a few easy steps. With an intuitive user interface and an automatic photo-merging engine, the software is ideal for generating virtual tours for the Web, matte paintings for movies, environment maps for 3D rendering and panoramic prints for artistic display.
 
ImageModeler 2009 offers a new approach to 3D modeling: generating 3D models from 2D digital images.
The software's easy-to-learn, three-step workflow of calibration, modeling and texturing lets users achieve photorealistic results with real-world accuracy.
 
 
New Feature Highlights in Stitcher Unlimited 2009

• Fully Automatic Engine: Create partial or full spherical panoramas in just a few clicks. Stitching, alignment and color correction can be automated.

• Double Shot: Stitch images taken with a two-shot fisheye lens; an effective way to create fully spherical virtual tours with only two pictures.

• High Dynamic Range (HDR) Support: Create exceptionally high-quality environment maps and panoramas through the embedded HDR workflow, with support for EXR and HDR input and output.

• Full interoperability with Adobe Photoshop and support for many industry-standard image, Web and video file formats.

• Hotspot Support: Create QuickTime VR hotspots for Web content with links that can be integrated within a panorama, and reference another panorama.

• Tripod Cap: Users can cover up the tripod in their image with an image of their own.

• Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Acceleration: Optimized to take advantage of graphics card GPUs for preview rendering in the main Viewport. The GPU is now also used to accelerate final renders.

• Selectable Rendering Area: Using the crop tool, artists can precisely select an area to be rendered, even in full-screen mode.

• Redesigned User Interface and Workflow: Includes new icons and a new palette to manage thumbnails more efficiently.

• New Calibration Engine: Generates a 3D model or scene using calibration points based on one or more panoramas or photos.

• 3D Measurement: The ruler toolset calculates real-world distances and angles between points, eliminating the need for complex laser measurements onsite. This is of particular benefit to architects.

• High-Performance Photo Texturing: High-quality texture extraction; texture mapping is a one-click, automatic process and photorealism is built-in.

• User-friendly Interface: The UI color can be customized and source images can be viewed as thumbnails.

• Improved Interoperability with other Autodesk software products: Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk 3ds Max Design, Autodesk MotionBuilder and the AutoCAD family of products.

• Full interoperability with Adobe Photoshop and support for many industry-standard image, Web and video file formats.

Publication is based on the contents of highend3d.com website.

Prepared by editor N. Matveeva (Russia).