The iScan 3D App

A new app promises to enable generation of instant 3D models right from your iPhone. iScan3D by Digiteyezer works using a combination of images and a cloud service. 

 

Here's how it works: your subject remains still while you move about taking between 5 and 30 images. Presumably it would help if there wasn't much in the background. Then the app uploads these images to their cloud service where, through the magic of software algorithms, your images are transformed into a 3D model. You then log in to their website to pick up the models in any of several downloadable formats. 

 

Sounds good, but then we looked a bit further. The first thing you'll notice is that the app is priced at USD$19.99, a pretty hefty price for any app. But then it gets worse: this purchase permits you to produce only 20 models. After that you have to pay a subscription fee to do more.  

 

The app description contains some unusual statements: 

 

This app requires good skills and knowledge on 3D scanning processes. You are already a scanner users or are aware of scanning requirements and constraints, you are our target customer. In this case, just follow our guidelines (including a training period with 5 hands-on examples) and iScan3D will drive you to get amazing results. You are a new users of 3D scanning or you expect iScan3D to work with any object, in any lighting conditions without any constraints or knowledge? iScan3D might not be appropriate for you. 

 

Well then. We consider ourselves to be knowledgable 3D scanning users, so we looked further. 

 

We were really tempted to try it out until we read this intriguing app store review by user cgbeige:

 

criminally bad software (one star)

do not buy this. You pay way too much for it, then you upload some images and it sends yoga report that it tossed some away and then makes a mesh puke that takes away your limited model credits so soon you can't make any more mesh pukes. If Satan existed and he made software, he would make this software. 

 

Ok, cgbeige, we understand that, but how do you *really* feel about this app? 

 

Via Digiteyezer (Hat tip to John)

The DAVID Structured Light Scanner

One of the more popular and accessible (read: inexpensive) 3D scanning solutions has been the DAVID Laser Scanner, which has been available for some years. Now we see a new type of scanner from German DAVID Vision Systems, the Structured Light Scanner. 

 

We spoke with Eric Wilson of CreateItForMe, a growing reseller of this and other devices, to find out more about the new scanner.  

 

Fabbaloo: Why a new scanner? Was there something wrong with the original DAVID Laser Scanner?

 

Eric Wilson: The DAVID laser scanner worked very well however, it is mostly manual operation where a line laser traverses for 10-40 seconds over the object with a background behind.  For some applications, like human face scanning, scan time is an issue as the subjects may move slightly. The new Structured Light scan needs only 2-4 seconds, requires no laser, and does not require a background, making it safer, more mobile, flexible, and accurate for the objects being scanned.

 

Fabbaloo: The new Structured Light Scanner is quite a bit more expensive than the previous laser scanner; can you tell us the pricing and why such a difference?

 

Eric Wilson: The short answer is hardware. This package includes a very high quality camera with a fast frame rate and a lightweight DLP projector. It is designed for industrial users and I might add is considerably less expensive than other products in this market. 

 

Fabbaloo: What are the key advantages of the new scanner over the previous device? Over alternative devices from other manufacturers? 

 

Eric Wilson: The main advantages are:

• Fast scans, taking 2-4 seconds. Texture grabbing and other scan settings may require a few more seconds
• The projector and camera are fixed with no calibration panels during scans
• High scan accuracy and repeatability; 50-500mm parts have approx. 0.2% accuracy
• Users can scan small coins or insects to furniture and other larger objects, with the same hardware, and a simple camera position change!
• The included Shapefusion tool semi-automatically creates a 360° mesh by aligning the overlapping surface areas and fusing several scans together, and saved in one of STL, OBJ, or PLY file formats.

 

Because of the scan accuracy and the speed, it is suitable for reverse engineering, quality inspections, and medical use by professionals, designers, and manufacturers. The accuracy is comparable to scanners costing 10x as much.

 

Fabbaloo: How difficult is the assembly and setup process? What level of expertise would be necessary? How long does it take a typical user to get started?

 

Eric Wilson: Start up involves mounting the preassembled scanner on the tripod, connecting the cables, and aiming the camera and projector toward the object. The software installs from the USB key. The package includes detailed instructions on scanner setup and operation. Experienced DAVID users would need an hour; novice users a few hours to get started. Support is available thru DAVID Wiki and online Forum containing thousands of entries.

 

Fabbaloo: What is the availability of the Structured Light Scanner? Do you have them available today?

 

Eric Wilson: We are accepting orders now, with special introductory pricing, and shipping in about one week. If budget is an issue, users have the option of purchasing lower cost hardware and the DAVID version 3.X USB software key separately.  And of course, the DAVID laser scanner kit is still available. Version 3.x upgrades are always free. Versions 2.x upgrades are available for a modest cost.

Via CreateItForMe

Don't Bite the 3D Scanner!

We're always seeking new ways to create or capture 3D models and now we'd like to tell you about an unusual form of 3D scanner: the Intra Oral Scanner. The iOC Scanner, made by Cadent (now part of Align), is a 3D scanner that you place in your mouth to produce highly detailed scans of your dental array. Yes, it's used by dentists to dramatically simplify their workflow. 

 

Previously dentists would take a plastic impression of your teeth and then a technician would manually create products from it. Now the entire process can be done digitally, directly from your mouth to your braces, crowns, etc. 

 

How does it work? According to Cadent: 

 

The iOC scanner … uses parallel confocal imaging to digitally capture the surface and contours of the tooth and gingival structures. The iOC captures 100,000 points of laser light in perfect focus at 300 focal depths of the tooth structure. 

 

In practice, the dental tech merely places the scanner above the tooth and a complete 3D model is captured almost instantly. 

 

We're wondering if this scanner could be used to capture detailed scans of other items? Perhaps, but likely the software is highly focused on teeth and not coins, jewelry, buttons or other small scannable items. 

 

Regardless, our advice is this: don't bite the scanner!

 

Via Cadent

ReconstructMe Makes 3D Capture Easy

A new project by PROFACTOR GmbH attempts to vastly simplify 3D scanning. ReconstructMe is software that uses a Microsoft Kinect 3D sensor to capture highly detailed 3D models of nearby objects. 

 

But wait, you say, that's been done before. Well, kinda. All of the Kinect 3D capture software we've seen so far simply takes "still" face-on 3D images. In other words, if you were to scan your face with these other systems you'd see only the front of your face, while the back of your head would remain as mysterious as the far side of the moon. 

 

ReconstructMe takes this approach much, much farther by allowing the scanner to move around the object - all the while keeping track of the position of each 3D point, gradually building up a complete, 360 degree 3D model. In other words, the sensor can move around and capture the back of your head! 

 

The software is not yet released and in fact they're soon launching a beta version to ferret out the bugs. You can sign up for the beta at their site - but be warned they're seeking individuals with a lot of spare time to test and who have hefty machines to run their software. This gives us a glimpse into the future requirements for running ReconstructMe, by the way. The software is highly likely not going to be open sourced, according to PROFACTOR. 

 

Please watch the video on their site, which demonstrates quickly capturing the shape of an office chair in only two minutes. We've inspected to 20Mb STL model from this scan and must admit it's extraordinarily detailed, right down to what appears to be wear dimples on the seatback. 

 

We can't wait to see this software in the wild. 

 

Via ReconstructMe and YouTube

Scan The World With MatterPort

Startup company MatterPort is doing something we've long desired: inexpensive instant 3D scanning of arbitrary objects using a handheld device. 

 

Their solution is software and seems to use an XBOX 360 Kinect as the capture hardware. By moving the device manually around the scan target, the software gradually builds up a highly detailed 3D model of the target, even including textures. Please watch the video above as what they are doing is quite startling. 

 

The implications of this are profound: if this software works, we'll inevitably see the hardware collapse into a mobile phone. Then we'll see an explosion of digital 3D models and adaptations. That can only be good! 

  

Via MatterPort

DAVID Laser Scanner Updated

The inexpensive DAVID Laser Scanner has been updated to version 3.0 with some interesting improvements. This device can be used to capture complete digital 3D models of physical objects - which you can then print, of course. 

 

For some time the scanner has supported laser scanning, but now version 3.0 adds the ability to do what's called "Structured Light Scanning". This is a completely different approach in which a projector illuminates your object with a standard set of gridlines. The appearance of the gridlines on the object are interpreted by software into the digital model. 

 

What makes "SLS" better is the speed. Rather than having a laser laboriously dance across an object's surface, the gridlines are able to capture much more information simultaneously. The captures are also more reliable because there is little mechanical movement involved. However, you must perform the scan in a very dark environment, which may limit the ability to scan certain kinds of objects. 

 

This scanner is to be shown to the public at the TCT conference. We're not sure of the price, but the original version of the DAVID Laser Scanner was priced at £320.

 

Via YouTube and A1 Technologies

The Spinscan

Thingiverse user tbuser has been working on an open source version of a 3D scanning turntable, complete with cross-platform software. While 3D printer owners are amazed at their ability to produce things, it gets a bit more tricky to create models. Scanning is obviously a great way to get great models for printing - or teleportation to friends, for that matter. 

 

Why did tbuser embark on this project? Let him answer that: 

 

Frustrated by no working cross platform open source turntable laser line 3D scan software that works in OSX - I'm taking the plunge and trying to write one using Processing.  I make no promises that I'll be able to find the time to work on this...

 

We're hoping this project will work out, since there's always room for an inexpensive 3D scanning solution that works well. 

 

Via Thingiverse and GitHub. And GitHub again. 

Trimensional Upgrades, But Not Enough

This January we wrote about an amazing new USD$0.99 iPhone app that apparently was able to produce 3D models simply by taking a few snaps and applying image analysis. At that time the app could produce a 3D image, but not export models suitable for printing. 

 

That's now changed as Trimensional now offers in-app purchase of extended features to export your 3D model in either OBJ, STL or PLY. As you can see, there's also options to "smooth" the model and close the back, making the model solid - very handy for printing. 

 

However, there's a catch. The models just aren't terribly good. As you can see in the top image, we've captured a model of an arm and fist. But when you export the STL and import that into a modeling tool, (bottom image) well, you can see the results above.

 

Clearly you'd need to do a lot of fiddling with the mesh to produce something usable. This is not unexpected: the app merely takes four slightly off-angle pictures in the dark and attempts to interpret 3D information from them. Perhaps you might get better results than we did under perfect conditions, but our experiment should be typical. As powerful as an iPhone might be, it just doesn't have the hardware to do serious 3D scanning. Yet. 

 

Nevertheless, we're still encouraged by Trimensional. The results are not particularly printable, but it's still pretty impressive. It's the first app able to produce 3D models in seconds from a mobile phone, and there's lots of room for enhancement. Someday we're hoping to see an app that can produce models as good as those from dedicated handheld 3D scanners. 

 

Via Trimensional