Home-Brew 3-D Photography
Various methods exist for digitizing a solid object in 3-D. Most of the non-contact methods are based on triangulation in one form or another. The method used in the course EE148 taught at Caltech makes use of an LCD projector, a video camera, and various computer interfaces. This system produces good results on medium-sized objects at high speed. Commercial systems, such as those produced by Cyberware produce better results by means of laser light sources and multiple sensors. Cyberware systems scan from small to large objects at medium speeds, but can cost over $400,000, excluding the host computer.
My goal for this project was to build an inexpensive scanning system using readily-available components. The particular system I produced can scan small objects at a slow speed, although the object size could be increased with minor system changes. Excluding the computer, the total cost of my system is under $500.