We know that the appearance of the Kinect 3D camera hardware, and subsequent open source driver hacking conquest, is a game-changer that brings the real world into much closer contact with the virtual world. But it still amazes us when we see a concept like this turntable-based 3D object scanner that works so incredibly well.

The concept is extremely simple. A box made from foamboard rests atop a turntable. At its center is the object you wish to scan being well-lit by a small LED light source at each upper corner of the box. First up some code and capture data about the sides and top of the object as it spins. To put the shoe back together in the virtual world, he used a modified version of RGBDemo v0.6.0, a Kinect focused project written by Nicolas Burrus.

[A.J] says that the scan comes out pretty well after just one pass, but that’s not stopping him from setting his sights on making this work with three of four Kinects at once. Don’t forget to check out his video demonstration which is embedded after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Among the courses at this year’s SIGGRAPH (an annual technical conference and showcase of the latest in computer graphics research) was an introduction to 3D scanning that covers all the bases: mathematical foundations, two different build-your-own hardware approaches, and how to process and render the resulting datasets. The presenters have assembled all the course materials on a top-notch web site featuring slide shows, complete source code, and an extensive round-up with links to both commercial and homebrew 3D scanning gear. The simplest of these methods requires nothing more than a webcam, halogen light source, and a stick!

SIGGRAPH and 3D scanning have been highlighted many times on Hack a Day, but we’re swelling with pride now seeing an academic venue give a favorable nod to the DIY hacking community (on their links page). Okay, so Hack a Day isn’t called out by name, but just wait’ll next year!

[Thanks Fahrzin]