3D Scanning

 

3D Scanning 

The basic principle of 3D scanning is to use a 3D scanner to collect data about a subject. The subject can be:

an object

an environment (such as a room or even a landscape)

a person (3D body scanning)

Some 3D scanners can simultaneously collect shape and color data. A 3D scanned color surface is called a texture.

3D scans are compatible with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software and also 3D printing, after preparing the 3D model via specific software. A 3D scan can give a lot of information about the design of an object, in a process called reverse engineering.

3D scanners are powerful tools for professionals in several industries, such as automotive, aerospace, dental, and jewelry, as well as in more artistic applications such as video games, special effects, and animation movies. 3D scanning technologies rely on different physical principles and can be classified into the following categories:

Laser triangulation: Projects a laser beam onto a surface and measures the deformation of the laser ray.

Structured light: Measures the deformation of a light pattern when projected onto a surface to 3D scan the shape of the surface.

Photogrammetry: Also called “3D scan from photographs”, this technology reconstructs a subject in 3D from 2D captures (photos) with computer vision and computational geometry algorithms.

Contact-based 3D scanning technology: Relies on the sampling of several points on a surface, measured by a mechanical, optical, or physical probe.

Laser pulse: Based on the Time of Flight (ToF) of a laser beam. The laser beam is projected onto a surface and recollected by a sensor. The time of travel of the laser between its emission and reception gives the surface’s geometrical information to the 3D scanner.