Is new 3D modelling technique obsolete 3D scanner?

The 3D scanners are quite expensive and if anybody is using a really high quality device, then he probably will need to modify the virtual version of the object quite a bit, once scanned into the computer.

Researchers at the Centro de Investigaciones en Optca (CIO) in Mexico, appear to have come up with a better solution; a solution that could be quite a bit more affordable, yet even more reliable than current 3D scanning technology.

The process which is referred to as “Co-phased 360-degree profilometry.” It involves 5 things: A camera, 2 light projectors, the subject (positioned and able to be rotated 360 degrees), and a computer. It is based off a discovery outlined in a classical research paper by Takeda et al. in 1982, which results in 3D models of quasi-cylindrical solids, but fails to create reliable 3D models of non-cylindrical or more detailed objects.

The Takeda et al. method uses a single light projector to shine parallel lines onto an object. A camera then captures images of the object with the bent light, and a computer is able to interpret those bends in order to create a 3D model of it. This just isn’t feasible though for those wishing to create 3D models of most objects, as many objects feature details that the Takeda et al. method would not be capable of modeling.

The new method, realized by researchers, Manuel Servin, Guillermo Garnica and J. M. Padilla, utilizes an additional projector which is positioned at an identical angle on both sides of the camera. Photos are taken with the camera, first with one projector beaming light toward the object, and then with the second doing the same thing from the other side. The object is then turned slightly and the same exact process takes place again. This takes place until enough photographs are taken to entirely model the object.

Now, there is a question that , how long until everyone will have access to technology like this, which allows them to create virtual objects of just about anything that exists in the tangible world? This would lead to being able to view and print 3D models of virtually anything in turn the planet at the touch of a button.

Will this new method make 3D scanners obsolete anytime soon? Most definitely not, but it does provide yet another option for us to consider.