Advice from the expert: Optimum 3D-scanning with SCENECT
IT expert Philipp Biermann scans with SCENECT and he provides some tips and tricks for achieving the optimum scanning results. He describes possible fields of application and answers the most important questions about the hardware and software.
Editorial team: What do you like about scanning with SCENECT?
Philipp Biermann: I always wanted a 3D scanner, so this solution is a good alternative. Unlike similar products, FARO SCENECT is a professional piece of software based on the SCENE platform, which is used for the 3D laser scanners from FARO. For a minimal investment of less than € 200, SCENECT gives you access to the world of 3D scanners and 3D modelling – an interesting topic and quite a nice “toy”. When the consumer hardware becomes available, it will be possible, with the push of a button, to give grandma a replica of her granddaughter as a Christmas present, which has been produced with a 3D printer. Or then it will be possible to smarten up an online job application with 3D image of yourself, instead of simply attaching a passport photo. It can also be used as an interesting addition to your own Facebook profile.
Editorial team: What tips can you as an IT expert give about installing the software and about the hardware?
Philipp Biermann: The installation of the software is conveniently simple – Download, Install, finished. The necessary hardware drivers for Windows are also installed in the process. The software does however require the 64-bit version of Windows 7. No 32-bit version is available. So you should check in advance whether the systems requirements are met, before you buy the hardware. Windows 8 is not yet supported at the moment, but presumably that will not be a problem soon. To use the software for more than 30 days, you should register it straight away. That’s also free of charge.
Editorial team: Kinect or Xtion PRO LIVE, you have tested both motion sensors with SCENECT. Which is your favorite?
Philipp Biermann: Kinect and Xtion differ in only one respect: The Kinect hardware requires an external power supply, whereas the Xtion can be powered via the USB port. When used as a 3D scanner, this turned out to be a not insignificant factor: Small items can be easily recorded with a Kinect but when it comes to people the additional power supply for the Kinect can cause problems. To record an object or a room with Kinect or Xtion, you have to walk around the object with the sensor or move about the room. For that reason a 360-degree recording with the Kinect is quite difficult, if not entirely impossible – unless you have a very long power cable and the help of a second person. For the same reason outdoor recordings with a notebook are almost impossible with the Kinect. In my opinion the Xtion is definitely the better buy.
Editorial team: What do you particularly watch out for when scanning? Are there any tricks that you can use to achieve an especially good result?
Philipp Biermann: In order to achieve the optimum recording it is advisable to walk slowly and smoothly around the object to be scanned. A little practice is required for this. Moving objects cannot be recorded in this way, but a person sitting quietly is no problem for the motion sensor or the software. The scanning process takes about 5 minutes. The bigger the object to be scanned the better the result. A person or any bigger object is perfectly suitable. The important thing is to maintain a distance of approx. 60 cm between the object to be scanned and the sensor – any less than that and the sensor is “blind”.
One very useful advice is to attach the Xtion PRO LIVE with adhesive tape to the screen of a notebook, for example. Then you have optimum freedom of movement.
Pushing the next generation of digitizing heritage
Relicarte have been working with museums in creating digital output for a varied range of outcomes, since 2006. Since then they have seen that the interest in digital content as a resource across the heritage market has grown exponentially.
Due to the growing business of Relicarte they were looking for a new scanner which would allow to digitize larger subjects with increased accuracy and with less processing time and the search began. Relicarte was introduced to the FARO product range and purchased a Laser ScanArm Quantum with Geomagics package.
Earlier this year Relicarte also decided to buy a FARO Laser Scanner Focus3D as they move towards digitizing heritage sites as part of developing new services for the Museum and heritage industry.
Relicarte has created ‘My-museum’, which delivers a fully interactive platform that provides online visitors with immersive access to cultural media, from fully rendered 3 dimensional arte-facts to film, text, music and beyond.‘My-museum’ is further designed as public engagement tool through which users can communicate with the Museum and their fellow visitors, generating a vibrant cultural conversation.
Programme 3D Documentation User Meeting now online!
Discover new technologies and applications at this year’s 3D Documentation User Meeting. Have a look at the programme and see what you can expect on 13th and 14th June in Strasbourg.
We start day 1 with a keynote speech from 3D Systems‘s CEO Abe Reichental. Other so called Power Speeches include WebShare at Volvo, Autodesk, Laser Scanning & CGI – The new way of imaging, and, 3D documentation of the Cloaca Maxima by Indissoluble.
In the afternoon’s workshops you can choose between different technical, special, and learning sessions including sessions on mobile mapping, civil engineering, architecture & heritage.
Secure your seat here.
We look forward to meeting you in Strasbourg!
FARO at Forensics Europe Expo in London
Forensics Europe Expo has been designed as the premier international forum for sourcing forensics products, equipment and services, and provide the definitive source of education, best practice, training and networking for the entire forensics sector and supply chain.
Ideal for many forensic situations, FARO will be demonstrating the advanced capabilities of the company’s Focus Laser Scanner 3D. The revolutionary 3D measurement and 3D image documentation scanner is ideal for high-speed, accurate data capture. Focus Laser Scanner 3D’s accompanying Software, SCENE is able to process and manage scanned data easily and efficiently by using automatic object recognition in addition to scan registration and positioning.
Date: 24 – 25 April 2013
Location: The Grand Hall, Olympia West Kensington, London
Further information: uk@faroeurope.com
Share your best Focus3D picture and win tickets to Strasbourg!
Do you have pictures of the Laser Scanner Focus3D in a unique application, an exceptional situation, or an exotic location?
Post your picture on FARO’s timeline and maybe you will be one of the winners in this contest!
FARO organises a contest for all Focus3D users to share their best Focus3D picture. The very best images will be awarded with free tickets to FARO’s 3D Documentation User Meeting!
We welcome images from every industry and application, ranging from crime scene investigation, architecture, heritage, agriculture and forestry, mining and tunnel construction, factory design, quality control, and more.
A jury will select the best images. Enter now and win a free entry ticket to the FARO 3D Documentation User Meeting in Strasbourg on 13 and 14 June 2013!
Featured White Paper: an Introduction to 3D measurement technology
Whether it’s small machined parts requiring precision diameters, alignment of large equipment or setting up machine tools, or even documenting entire buildings and environments, three-dimensional measurement data can help companies make more informed decisions and produce better quality products.
Read this white paper to learn more about the latest 3D measurement tools, how they work, and their common applications.
For access to other white papers on 3D measurement topics, follow this link.
Save the date! 3D Documentation User Meeting – 13 and 14 June 2013 in Strasbourg
FARO organises this annual 3D Documentation User Meeting to bring knowledge together for and by FARO users, partners and potential customers.
The exchange should help people understand other potential uses of laserscan technology. Participants can discover a whole new way of using the scanner or a particular software to suit their industry!
So save the date and visit user-meeting.faro.com/information for a detailed agenda.
Combining terrestrial laser scanning with ESA’s satellite data
Source: www.treemetrics.com
Treemetrics, committed to using laser scan data to more accurately count and catalog forests around the world, has landed this week a $1 million deal with the European Space Agency.
Beyond their proprietary software and terrestrial laser scanning Treemetrics can now use satellite data to monitor forests all over the world. We’re becoming a kind of data exchange,” said Treemetrics CEO Enda Keane.
But it all starts with the laser scanner, Keane said. “The laser scanner is a beautiful piece of kit,” he said. “It’s just incredible data. And the foresters are able to work with the raw data so quickly, so easily.”
Read the full article at Spar Point Group
Also see the post: Laserscan solution developed by foresters for foresters
Challanging assignment to save an architectural milestone in Russia
Few constructions can match the innovative elegance of the Shukhov tower, Moscow that was built over 90 years ago by the great Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov.
His genius was to use a lattice of straight steel beams to create a hyperboloid structure that delivers enormous strength with a minimum of materials and little wind resistance.
Originally planning to exceed the height of the Eiffel Tower by 45 metres with 60% less steel, Shukhov was still forced to scale down his tower due to the lack of steel in revolutionary Russia.
Behind the Magic: Laser Scanning Used to Create the Hulk
Browsing on YouTube, we came across the following video about creating The Hulk for “The Avengers”.
Here is how laser scanning was used to create a high-resolution model of Marc Ruffalo as “The Hulk”. Have a look!
