A huge variety of techniques for geometric processing, physically based simulation and advanced visualization makes digital 3D models more and more ubiquitous in our everyday life with applications ranging from custom tailored clothing over virtual sightseeing to architectural and landscape planning. In all these applications fast and low-cost generation of 3D models from real world objects is an essential prerequisite.

This talk discusses the 3D acquisition pipeline consisting of 3D scanning, local surface estimation and global surface reconstruction. Several new techniques for the individual steps in the pipeline are presented with a focus on fast 3D scanning and surface reconstruction techniques that are robust against noise.