iOS users can now scan real-life objects with their devices and turn them into 3D models.
Epic Games has officially released its RealityScan app on the Apple App Store after almost eight months of beta testing it on Apple's software.
The company previously launched its beta test to a limited amount of iOS users in April, per The Verge.
Epic Games RealityScan App iOS Release Details
Epic Games mentioned in its announcement that iOS users can now download its RealityScan app for free on the Apple App Store, allowing them to turn real-life objects on photos into high-fidelity 3D models without needing any prior experience.
The app was created through a collaboration between Epic Games, Capturing Reality, and Quixel. Capturing Reality and Quixel are companies known for their specialization in photogrammetry software, with Quixel being the creator of Megascans, the world's largest scan library.
The app is a boon to game developers and other creative content creators that mainly use iOS devices, as they can now scan real-world objects anytime, anywhere for the projects without getting a 3D scanner, which could be expensive, per Engadget.
However, Epic Games assured that an Android version of the app is in the works and that it is set for release sometime in December 2022 or 2023.
The app is the latest Epic Games added to the tools it made to help developers and creative content creators in making 3D objects, per The Verge. The company also developed MetaHuman Creator, a cloud-based app that makes lifelike recreations of people that can be rigged and animated in Unreal Engine.
How To Use RealityScan
iOS users trying out RealityScan for the first time will find it is easy to use, though Epic Games advises them to watch this video tutorial first to help them achieve the best results from the app.
To get the best results from the app, a user will need to take photos of an object from as many angles as possible. While the user does so, the app will align the photos they're taking with each other in the cloud while also providing a heat map of where the user needs to take more photos to render a better 3D object.
When the app has the object fully rendered, the user can preview the target object's 3D model directly on the app. They can also crop and trim it to their specifications, so the floor underneath or background objects wouldn't be included in the target object's final 3D render.
Once the user is happy with how the preview looks on the app, they can export the newly-made 3D model to Sketchfab, a platform for sharing 3D models. From there, they can bring the model they made from RealityScan to apps like Twinmotion, MetaHuman, and Epic's Unreal Engine.
Epic added that people uploading a 3D model from RealityScan to Sketchfab could get a year of SketchFab Pro for free.
