Seene (iOS): It's like Lytro and Kinect had a Threesome w/ Google Maps

And it's way more fun than Instagram.

Thanks to TechCrunch I have recently discovered discovered Seene, a free iOS app that uses 3D motion tracking to create pseudo-3D images of whatever you want. The basic premise of the app is that you sweep your phone around an object, and the program automagically creates a mesh of the scene.The tech behind it is pretty cool, users of Adobe After Effects might be familiar with it. Using auto-detected tracking points, Seene will calculate the location of a scene's vertices in 3D space relative to dozen of other points. A single image of the scene is then distorted to fit through these 3D points creating a (slightly warped) 3D representation of a subject.

In the iOS app, you can view other 'images' by just moving your phone. The gyroscope and accelerometer control the rotation of the scene/Seene(? is it a noun...?) on your screen. On a PC, your mouse cursor controls your perspective.Although the app isn't quite perfect because of the relatively low density of tracking points used, for small perspective perturbations the 3D image actually look pretty neat.

If the makers of the app add landscape mode, color correction, and a better interface that includes social interactions (ex. commenting) I could see this becoming the next Foodstagram. Plus, because there's no special plug-in needed to view Seenes, the app is far easier to share from than say Microsoft's Photosynth.However, there is one unfortunate downside to using Seene: You look like an idiot using it. The larger your scene, the more you have to sweep your camera around to capture the necessary perspective. I tried doing it in Kohls last night and ended up waving my phone all around an aisle.