Written by Info Expert on July 14, 2010 | Posted in Business

This is a device that can, through a series of complex steps, render a virtual model of an object in the real world. There are many uses of this kind of device. It has applications in art, where a computer can create a digital sculpture by scanning a clay figure. Engineers can develop virtual representations of machine component that would otherwise be expensive and risky to manufacture. The applications of a 3D scanner are as varied as the devices themselves.

Timed Laser Scanner

Since the speed of light is a constant factor in physics, a 3D scanner can employ the idea of time to scan an object. Lasers travel at the speed of light. By determining the amount of time a laser beam takes to travel, reflect off the object, and return to the senor, slight differences in the flight times of different beams are found. These differences are used to measure the distance, and therefore the surface features of an object.

Contact Scanner

This sort of device probes an object using small appendages. Although slow, this scanner is very precise and accurate and is often used in manufacturing environments, where attention to detail is a valuable asset.

Triangulation Scanner

A 3D scanner that uses this method uses a minimum of three laser beams that are pointed at specific areas on the object. Using a camera and a series of complex algorithms, it is able to create a model. The camera detects where the laser points are located in relation to each other and can use the angles between the points to render a model.

Stereoscopic 3D Scanner

This kind of 3D scanner can be understood by humans. Two cameras are arranged side by side and a fixed distance is between them. These two cameras are both focused on the object of interest. Because the cameras are in slightly different locations in relation to the object, there are slight differences in the images on each of the cameras. This difference is used to create a computer model of the object.

There are many varieties of scanners, each with a unique method of accomplishing the task of taking a physical object and making an accurate and detailed digital model.

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