A New Way to 3D Scan Photo-based Scanning - Saves Time and Money

Paper by Alan Walford

I like it. Scanning with photos. :)



"Introduction
Do you need to create dense 3D point clouds and detailed surface models of physical objects, and do you want to do it in a cost-effective and efficient manner? A new class of 3D scanning technologies, called photo-based scanning, may be the solution you are looking for. This new technology uses a standard off-the-shelf digital camera in combination with specialized software that analyzes the digital images - there is no additional hardware required. The new technology is called photo-based scanning, or photogrammetric scanning. In this white paper we define 3D scanning, review the current methods for 3D scanning, introduce photo-based scanning, plus examine strengths and weaknesses of the various technologies."

"How Is Photo-Based Scanning Done?
These are typical steps for executing a 3D scan with a photo-based scanning system:
1. Ensure the object or scene has a suitable pattern or texture on the surface.
2. Ensure good and consistent lighting during photography.
3. If there are no suitable, easily-identifiable points around the scene or object, place some high contrast targets.
4. Take two or more photographs of the object or scene - these are often taken as pairs with the pair of photographs being close to parallel but separated horizontally.
5. Load the photographs into the photo-based scanning software.
6. In the software perform the orientation step - where the software, using the targets or sharp point markings, solves where the camera was during photography.
7. Initiate the software’s automated scanning/matching step on whole photos or selected sub-regions.
8. The resulting 3D point cloud can be filtered, meshed (to convert to a triangulated surface), or merged with other point clouds.
9. Export the result, perform measurements, or visualize with projected photo-textures.
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