Jun 5, 2015 | By Simon

Although we may not hear about new releases for them as often as we hear about new 3d printers and filament materials, 3D scanners are becoming increasingly more important for being able to replicate existing real-world objects into 3D printable forms.  Among other reasons for their popularity include the lower costs of utilizing high-resolution scan technologies that can help shave minutes or hours off of the time it would take to 3D model something by hand - if the user even has the knowledge to do so.  

Among other companies who have recently released new 3d scanner offerings is Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a top-ranked, government-funded institute for technological advancements.  Founded in 1973 as a nonprofit, the company has overseen the development of more than 260 companies and has many well-known partners including Corning Glass, Underwriters Laboratories, Applied Materials, Asahi Kasei, Nidec, Fraunhofer, VTT of Finland and Ericsson, among others.   

The Institute recently presented a lineup of new state-of-the-art products at the country’s COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2015 technology conference - and among them include an entirely new 3D scanner hardware device and app combo that works with existing smartphones.

The 3D scanner + app combo - which they are calling mScan - is designed to work with existing smartphone functionalities and appeal to as many users as possible.  Among other features include the ability to function with all Android smart devices and Windows computers as well as a wireless connection function for transferring scan data between the two.  

“It integrates infrared depth and color image sensing into a single compact module,” says Jenny Lin, the Manager at the Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories within ITRI.   “Once the user installs the app to their Android device or Windows computer, 3D scanning can be activated through wireless communication.”

Lin also adds that users will be able to view their scans as 3D models instantly while the scanning process is happening in real-time.  In doing so, this will allow the users to make any necessary adjustments - such as the scanning angle - in order to produce the most optimal model per their needs.  Once the model is created it can either be transferred to the computer wirelessly or archived digitally. According to ITRI, the scanner is ideal for personal and small business 3D modeling and printing work, AR gaming development, 3D image creation, and even medical and healthcare applications.    

The 3D scanner uses depth camera technology to compare a captured image from an IR camera and then introduces a specific pattern of random speckles onto the target object to create a three-dimensional model.  It is capable of acquiring 3D camera data of the target object based on a single-shot by superimposing the 3D data with a “volumetric registration method”.

“This is a light-weight handheld device – only 1kg in weight,” says Lin. “The scanning frame rate is 10 fps, and accuracy of 3D modeling can be reached to 0.1mm through the real time registration and fusion of 3D image processing.”

Thanks to ITRI, the future of high-resolution, lightweight and mobile 3D scanning on-the-go is a lot closer than we think.  

 

 

Posted in 3D Scanning

 

 

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Dr A G Ives wrote at 6/15/2015 3:49:44 PM:

We are an innovative medical device company. We need a relatively low cost portable high resolution 3D scanner. This seems to be very promising. Do you have a commercial partner we could speak to with a view to acquiring a unit? agives@atm.uk.com

sun wrote at 6/13/2015 10:05:53 AM:

这个产品mscan的具体参数能够发我一份吧,价位如何,如何购买, bc_measurement@163.com



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