While traditional cameras capture scenes in only two dimensions, there are optical methods to capture a scene in it's full three-dimensional form. This has recently been popularized by the Microsoft Kinect which uses a variation of the optical measurement method known as “structured light.” The basic hardware in a structured light system is a camera and pattern projector. By projecting a known pattern onto an object the camera can then record the deformations of that pattern and using image analysis extract the 3D shape of the object. Therefore a structured light system is in its essence a 3D camera, wherein each pixel represents an RGB & XYZ value within the scene.
The image above shows two scans from a custom Alces structured light system. Structured light systems like this can provide an extraordinary amount of detail including XYZ-resolution well below a millimeter. Alces is actively working to commercialize its projection technology and create hardware and software solutions in this emerging field.
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