www.3ders.org

Jul 14, 2017 | By Tess

The People’s Industrial Design Office, a branch of the Beijing-based People’s Architecture Office, has designed and created something called the 3D Copypod. Inspired by the Hoberman Sphere, the 3D Copypod is essentially a retractable structure which can be expanded into a 3D scanning booth. The booth can be used to 3D scan and transform people or things into 3D printable models.

Similar to other existing photogrammetry 3D scanning booths, the 3D Copypod is equipped with an array of DSRL cameras, each set to a fixed focal length. As the design office explains, “Objects [in the pod] are surrounded by a spherical array of over one hundred fixed focal length DSLR cameras. With minimal adjustment, the 3D Copypod can contract to scan small objects and expand large enough to scan a group of people."

The 3D Copypod, which really does resemble the famous Hoberman sphere, integrates an isokinetic structure with hinged scissor joints which allows it to expand and contract easily. This feature not only makes it possible to 3D scan a wide variety of sizes and shapes, but also to transport it.

Inside the temporary and transportable 3D scanning pod, each DSLR camera is attached to a node of the booth’s structure. This allows them to move in a uniform fashion as the isokinetic structure is made bigger or smaller. For optimal 3D scanning results, the People’s Industrial Design Office team also installed translucent panels on the outside of the spherical structure and light the space from the inside in order to ensure a “shadowless environment.”

The design team says its 3D Copypod is therefore suitable for capturing high-resolution digital models that can be sent to a 3D printer. “With the snap of a camera, even subjects in motion can be captured in high quality and full color,” it said.

So far, the design team has only offered photos of the 3D scanning set-up, so we can’t say for sure whether the 3D scans that it produces are as high-quality as the design office says. There has also not been any mention of what software is used to transform the still photographs into a 3D model.

Still, there is no denying that the Hoberman-inspired 3D scanning booth at least looks pretty epic. We can’t wait to see what the scanning igloo-shaped pod can do!

Check out the video below to see the 3D Copypod in more detail:

 

 

Posted in 3D Scanning

 

 

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