3-Sweep: Extracting Editable Objects from a Single Photo

A group of computer science professors is working on a new interactive 3D modelling technique, which can easily read information from various photos, and turn the objects into 3D models in just seconds.

The '3-Sweep' technique, as demonstrated in the above video, takes three mouse strokes which define the three different dimensions of an object. The first two sweeps define the object's profile, while the third sweep finds distinct outlines, and reads the object's shape along its main axis.

At http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/199842/Watch_the_intriguing_3Sweep_3D_modelling_technique_in_action.php.