Epic Games Released an App That Turns Real-World Objects into 3D Models

Epic Games has released the RealityScan app for creating highly detailed 3D models by scanning real-world objects with your smartphone camera. The app is available on iPhones and iPads running iPadOS and iOS 16.0 or newer.

The app was developed by Capturing Reality, which is owned by Epic Games. To create a 3D model, one should take at least 20 photos of the object from different angles. The more photos with good lighting you take, the better the final 3D model will turn out. It is also important that the photos are taken against a neutral background.

The 3D model is generated almost instantly after scanning, using automatic cloud processing, which reduces the hardware requirements. Finished models can be exported into Epic's Sketchfab platform, where they can be turned into refined Unreal Engine 5 models and used for AR, VR, and 3D projects.

The initial limited beta test of the app was launched in April, but there is still no application for Android – it is currently in development, but Epic Games has not yet provided an exact release date for it.