Microsoft's Research division is given the mandate to turn ideas into realities. While we can't confirm they had anything to do with Windows 8, they have just detailed their latest effort named MobileFusion. The new technology essentially turns any smartphone camera into a 3D scanning device. Furthermore, it can translate scanned objects into 3D images, but the application for 3D printing is still in the works.

The researchers who worked on the project, say MobileFusion is a more efficient method of scanning objects compared to other 3D scanning offerings, as the mobile device does not require any additional hardware in order to work. Furthermore, no internet connection is need either. To that end, Microsoft's researchers believe that MobileFusion could have great potential applications in remote locations where bandwidth is often hard to establish and maintain. "Everything happens on the phone itself," said Pushmeet Kohli, a principal research scientist with Microsoft Research.

While the MobileFusion system does indeed look more user friendly than other commercial 3D scanning options out there, the applications of the technology have not been fully fleshed out yet. That said, the Microsoft Research team will be presenting their work at the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality in October. Till then however, click on the video below to see MobileFusion in action.