Scannin’ Stuff

I have neglected my duties as a Blogger. For 6 months, I have contributed nothing to my expanding audience of 5 (dare I say 10?) readers. But I have an excuse. I’ve been busy.

I’ve been innovating.

It was on discovery of my work with the laser scanner, and methods for reconstructing real parts in 3D on the computer that a former collegue of mine asked me very plainly, if this technology could be applied to his applications. More specifically, could the work I was doing in 3D be applied to measuring real parts in 3D? Could I then compare the real scanned data to the computer -perfect 3D CAD data used to create the parts in the first place?

My response was neither yes or no. I simply thought about the problem and went to work. Which, I would like to imagine, is what innovators do.

I started by browsing through existing technology. I spent countless hours browsing YouTube, commercial websites and university publications. I read magazines, I contacted vendors. Every existing technology, I felt, had some sort of shortcoming. The most common method of 3D reconstruction relied on a mechanical probe and an automated positioning system. An extraordinarily complex and expensive piece of equipment that could, at best, generate a few measured data points per second. Real 3D surfaces can be mapped using a laser as a reference line, but the laser introduces erroneous data that needed to be filtered out in a secondary operation. You don’t shine lasers in your eyes. They are expensive. Everything took too long to scan. Calibration was a chore. Every option was impossibly expensive.

But more frustrating than anything was the fact that the technology was bundled up and hidden. Buried under proprietary patents and cumbersome software interfaces. There is nothing particularly complicated about 3D data collection. The technology depends on high school trigonometry, a little bit of programming, and a whole lot of time consuming calibration and trial and error. It can benefit from standard programming libraries and the collective experience of 3D visualization which has been developing in leaps and bounds since 3D games first entered the market 15 years ago. So exactly why was it so expensive? Who has $150,000 to experiment with 3D scanning?

The technology, I realized, was kept out of the hands of the many because of the cost. It was inaccessible on purpose. The high cost kept out the curious, and it kept the technology safely hidden behind the curtain. And as such, the options were limited. The technology was useful, but lacked any luster. It was an economy car at a premium price.

But then comes the internet. Along come legions of talented programmers and innovators who understood the power of this technology and begin to develop their own tools. These are the shade tree mechanics of the internet age. Innovators. I found open source tools that began to explore 3D data collection. I found tools that could track the video of a projected laser line, and extract real 3D data. I found open source applications for automating a mechanical touch probe to collect 3D data points. I found experiments with structured light and three phase lighting patterns that promise to capture more data faster and more accuraty than anything on the market. I tested countless tools, and while few could give the reliable results that I was looking for, they all tought me about the technology. They allowed me to browse through the innovation, and pick the one that best fit my needs. I could, for the first time, see how it worked, and understand how to make it better. I found FlexScan 3D, which separated the software from the hardware, and made real 3D data collection a real and accessible technology. It gave me some say in the tools that I was using, and gave me the opportunity to apply those tools in a new and practical way.

Does Ford build the fastest car? Or get the best fuel economy? That kind of refinement always goes to the fanatics, the refiners. The outsiders in pursuit of a single goal. It is my favorite theme, David besting Goliath. Innovation from the bottom up. Make technology available, and it will grow in leaps and bounds. Keep it hidden, and it will stagnate.

So, I’ve spent the last 6 months scannin’ stuff. I grabbed the tools available to me, and began to experiment, in my own all-consuming way with 3D. I now had technology available on which I could test processes and make improvements. I became one of the legions of 3D fanatics that work with this technology to make it better. Countless hours of calibration and experimentation. Better and faster.

I’m experimenting with new techniques and new applications. I’m testing hardware and taking notes. I’m building new tools, and exploring alternatives. I’m sharing what I learn with friends and colleagues, and I am applying the technology in new ways to solve old problems. I am, for the first time, able to participate in the innovation on which I have based so many of my past articles. I am creating something new and helping shape the future. In 3D.

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  By ben, February 16, 2010 @ 8:57 pm

  Finally! Never stray from the internet that long again. I can’t wait to see more videos!

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