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USC digital experts help Smithsonian create presidential tribute

Institute for Creative Technologies team immortalizes President Obama in 3-D

BY Orli Belman
The Smithsonian built a 3-D portrait of President Barack Obama with the help of USC's Institute for Creative Technologies. (Photo/Courtesy of The Smithsonian)

The USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) was part of a Smithsonian-led team that created a three-dimensional portrait of President Barack Obama.  A modified Light Stage X, a high-speed system with eight cameras and 50 LED lights that capture detailed shape and reflectance properties of a face in seconds, recorded the president’s facial features in high resolution. The Light Stage data was processed by the ICT Graphics Lab team, and subsequently combined with additional data capture by the Smithsonian team to create a life-sized bust of the president.

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USC digital experts help Smithsonian create presidential tribute

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