Sep 13, 2017 | By Tess
Japanese tech giant Sony grabbed our attention a couple of weeks ago with the announcement that its new Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact smartphones would be equipped with built-in 3D scanning technology. Now, with the added information that the company has partnered with 3D printing service Sculpteo to offer users on-demand 3D printing, Sony has piqued our interest even more.
According to the company, users of its new Xperia XZ1 smartphones will be able to order 3D prints of their scans with the touch of a button. Through the XZ1’s integrated 3D Creator application, you can send 3D models and scans directly to Sculpteo, which will 3D print the objects and ship them to your address for a fee. All without ever having to sit down in front of an actual computer.
Let’s take a few steps back though and look at the XZ1’s 3D scanning capacity. Unlike most other smartphones which can have 3D scanning abilities via downloadable apps and cloud services, Sony’s new smartphone comes ready with a pre-loaded 3D scanning app: 3D Creator.
Using the integrated app, users can choose from a number of scanning modes (head scan, face scan, food scan, or freeform scan) and are given the option to either share their scans with friends via messaging apps or upload them to 3D model sharing platforms such as Sketchfab.
Impressively, the app is fully equipped to process the images from the 3D scan, meaning that no cloud service or external app is necessary for generating the 3D models from the scans.
Now, by collaborating with Sculpteo, users will even have the option of having their scans directly transformed into 3D prints. They’ll also have the choice of ordering multi-colored prints and choosing from a range of size options.
Sony recently demonstrated the XZ1’s 3D Creator app at IFA in Berlin, showing how the 3D scanning app is capable of capturing good quality scans of various objects and faces in under a minute each and without any WiFi connection. Additionally, the app enables users to bring their 3D models back into the real world with an augmented reality feature.
Sony’s new Xperia XZ1 smartphone series will be available to consumers as of September 19. If you’re mentally preparing to line up for the new 3D scanning-enabled phone, you might just bear in mind that it comes with a price tag of $700.
Posted in 3D Printing Apps
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quality of scanning that makes prints like mashed potato...just what we want
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