Occipital’s Structure Sensor is being billed as the world’s first 3D sensor for mobile devices. It allows any iPad with a lightning connector to scan and import 3D images of rooms, objects and people. Its laser projector bathes the area and objects in a mesh of dots that the companion infrared camera uses to read for shapes and distance. Structure Sensor uses the iPad’s camera to record colour data, and its bracket puts the device’s sensors in perfect alignment with it for precise 3D scanning. The device reads at approximately 30 fps in VGA resolution and, if close enough to the subject, with sub-millimetre precision. ItSeez3D, a photorealistic scanning lets you output your scan as an file or upload it to the online 3D app, OBJ or PLY object repository, Sketchfab, letting you implement the image in a game, mobile app or download onto a 3D printer.
The really astonishing bit is how quickly the Structure works in capturing all of this data. Powers took the Structure and a few of the bundled demo apps for a brief spin in our New York office, and in a matter of mere moment he was able to capture a virtual bust of his ever-present marketing director and firing it off to Shapeways for printing. Scanning the topology of a side room was similarly quick, as was the process of throwing a virtual cat into the mix that would chase after balls that bounced off of 3D interpretations of couches and under coffee tables.
That breadth of those demo apps speaks to the sort of ecosystem that Powers hopes will rise up around the Structure in the weeks and months to come. After all, as neat as it is, the market for a gadget that lets its users capture and export 3D models for printing is still pretty limited. Powers’ vision is much more expansive: the SDK that’s being released alongside the Structure sensor will allow developers to build consumer-facing apps that take advantage of all that 3D data.
Picture Credit : Google
