THREE 3D Scanner: Fourth Example - Miniature

Scalability in a 3D scanner is a hugely important feature.  And, with their latest example, on the Matter and Form Blog, we are able to get a glimpse of the scalability to be offered with the new THREE 3D scanner from Matter and Form.

Warhammer Ultramarine by drewshark on Sketchfab

 

This miniature is just a bit over 1" tall at 35.52mm.  The blog says that this minature was captured at a distance of 220mm, which is the minimal distance that both cameras can focus on the same location.  At this "Near" distance, the THREE can achieve 37 micron resolution and 35 micron accuracy.  Keep that 1.4" tall size in mind as you check out the result!  

 

None of the many 3D scanners we used at YouthQuest or Phillips Programs could come close to achieving this kind of resolution on such a small object.  But, when we tried to go in the opposite direction, BIG, we faced similar hurdles. Our handheld scanners could nominally do it; but, lost tracking easily and it was a very frustrating process.

 

However, when we put together all the scans we have seen so far from Matter and Form, we begin to see a different set of capabilities from the THREE.  So, we wee have seen successful scans from the coin and minature at around 1.4" to the air intake of a Mustang at 22.5". 

 

I created a fake 3D printer profile in Cura, with a very large print area, and brought all the scans onto the print bed to give us some idea of the scalability we have seen so far.  That's very impressive.

THREE 3D Printer - Scalability Comparison

 

We also have to remember that the Mustang capture size was only limited by the actual size of the target.  It was captured using multiple (13) scan passes that were aligned to create the final 3D object.  It is unclear what the actual practical size limits might be; but, I have to believe that if we needed to do so, we could capture even bigger objects.

One of the reasons why we could do so is that the Matter and Form team decided NOT to make the THREE a handheld scanner, which requires an entirely different scanning strategy than the tripod mounted strategy of the THREE.  The tripod mounted strategy allows for a much more methodical and efficient scanning approach.  The capture involves selecting a specific target area, capturing and then moving the scanner to a position to capture an adjacent; but, overlapping area until the entire target is fully scanned.  Only after capturing do we move on to alignment and consolidation.  The primary benefit of this strategy, is that should we find that we missed overlapping an area, we can easily add a new capture to fulfills the missing area(s).

While I appreciate what ALL of the 3D scanners we used where able to bring to the educational experience in our work with students, I have to admit that losing tracking was never a favorite part of the experience with our handheld scanners.  And, we just never even tried to scan anything as small as 1.4" tall.  Most of our successful scans were around the size of the shoe.

ACCURACY & RESOLUTION vs DISTANCE 

 

Scalability does not mean that the THREE 3D scanner can achieve 35 micron accuracy and 37 micron resolution over it's entire scan range.  Like any projection based system, the White-Light system used by the THREE spreads out as distance is increased.  In the blog entry revealing the miniature scan results, Matter and Form also provided a chart that depicts the varying ranges of accuracy and resolution at various distances from the scanner.

 

DISTANCE FROM SCANNER	Z ACCURACY IN MICRONS	RESOLUTION IN MICRONS
220 mm / 8.66"	35	37
400 mm / 15.74"	108	65
700 mm / 27.55"	324	114

 

In practical terms, this simply means that should the user desire more precise accuracy, they need to capture more individual scans at a closer distance over the same target area.  Thus, the user is in control of the accuracy vs. number of scans that best fits their needs.  Again, this is a hugely beneficial situation over that faced by handheld scanner users.

PRICE ANNOUNCED

 

For the first time, the price for the THREE was announced as expected to be USD $2999. This will include the THREE scanner, a turntable, a tripod, calibration card, power adapter (See Note), and a carrying case.

 

That puts it above what many, including myself, expected, considering the price point of their initial scanner.  But, unlike some, I don't think we are, with the little information we have now, in a position to assess the true price/performance value.  What I do know is that not a single scanner I have ever used, could be called an unqualified success for its cost.  They were usable, useful and effective for our needs.  But, each and every one had limits in one way or the other that left us wanting for more.

 

It could be that $2999 (or less for those taking advantage of Kickstarter savings) just might be the sweet spot that breaks open a large percentage of the limitations sub-$2000 scanner users have faced and gotten us much close to the performance of scanners costing tens of thousands of dollars.  

 

A $3000 scanner that is heavily used because it works is a LOT more valuable than a $1200 scanner that sits in a closet 90% of the time.  It's all about results and productivity.  The reason I am willing to wait before passing judgement is because I have come to know the company, its commitment to users and their already having created THE best workflow of any of the scanners we've used.  I do not believe they set the price on a whim.  I trust that the cost is based on what they believe it will take to guarantee the highest price/performance value. 

 

Over a twenty-plus year period, I worked as part of a software team that created software that the allowed military and NASA to asses the sweet spot for purchasing spares for aircraft and space that allowed them to reach the most number of flying hours for the least amount of dollars.  

 

Aircraft Sustainability Model (Target Budget)

 

And, in every case, until a threshold was reached, increased spending resulted in increased productivity.  Beyond that sweet spot, spending more made little difference in increasing available flying hours.  I'm guessing that we might be very pleasantly surprised to learn that $2999 becomes that threshold for 3D scanning when the TREE is released.

Matter and Form THREE: Third Example Scan (Car Parts)

 Matter and Form continues to reveal more examples as they continue to develop their new THREE 3D Scanner system.  The first scan demonstrated scanning very small, shiny objects (coins) that demonstrated excellent detail of fine features of the coins.  The second scan demonstrated scanning a typical turntable sized object, a shoe and demonstrated 360 degree scanning in ALL directions, including the sole.  And, now comes the third example.  The air intake on a Mustang.

This example not only demonstrates how larger targets are captured; but, give us more insight into the entire scanning and post-processing workflow.

I have worked with the original Matter and Form scanner and it is the workflow of that scanner that lead me to be a huge fan of Matter and Form's approach to 3D scanning.  So, this video was especially important to me.  It demonstrated that the designers of the THREE have built upon their earlier excellent scanning process; but, also have given us even MORE control over the final outcome by adding manual alignment tools.

Putting the three demonstration videos together, we can begin to organize our thoughts into four categories to evaluate how the THREE will help those of us that believe their is an important place for 3D scanning in education.

• Scan Quality
• Scan Bandwidth
• Capture Process
• Post-Capture Process

Each of these categories represent important advances demonstrated by the THREE and the processes presented by Matter and Form and their suitability for the classroom.

SCAN QUALITY 

The first Matter and Form Scanner began life in 2012 and was introduced in 2013 as a crowd-funded project on Indiegogo. 

That means that they have had almost a decade of experience working with users and listening to what they wanted in the next generation of scanners.  They also had time to evaluate not only their initial scanning strategies; but, the strategies of others, and have opted to move to using Fixed Position, white-light scanning for the THREE rather than being handheld.  The result is vastly superior resolution and accuracy over first generation scanners.  The details in the coin captures demonstrated this.  But, the smoothness of the smooth areas of the air duct further confirm it.  There is still a little noise patterning; but, may less than any of the 3D scanners we have used.  It's very impressive.

Obviously, scan quality is at the top of everyone's list when looking forward to a new scanning platform.  But, it is not the only consideration in an educational setting.  As I have written before, the Einscan may have been able to obtain better results than the original Matter and Form in some cases;  But, from an educational value perspective the Matter and Form's workflow was superior.  And, our primary job is to provide the most valuable educational experience to the students in our care. With this new scanner, it appears we will get both very high scan results and an enhanced workflow in every respect.

SCAN BANDWIDTH

 I struggled with how to describe this category of evaluation.  But, I settled on the term bandwidth to cover both the breadth of the THREE's ability to capture dark as well as lighter objects and the much wider range of sizes that can be captured.  A scanner that is equally capable of capturing the details of coins and the expanse of engine parts has to be recognized as having pretty wide bandwidth!

But, special mention has to be made of the enhanced ability to capture darker objects than first generation scanners.  We struggled with this issue with ALL of the scanners we used and I cannot wait to see the final performance of the THREE in this regard firsthand.  The air duct scan looks awesome and shows real promise in this important area.  While they did mention the parts were dusty, they did not have to spray the parts to capture an excellent scan.

The first Matter and Form scanner was married to the turntable.  While the THREE benefits by being able to use a turntable, it is now freed from being locked to it.  This video not only demonstrates how this new strategy increases the bandwidth for targets; but, for those of us that have experience using handheld scanners, confirms the wisdom of taking the fixed-position, tripod approach.  It is MUCH faster and completely removes the lost tracking issues plaguing handheld users..

CAPTURE PROCESS

Where the first Matter and Form scanner excelled over all the other scanners we used was in the process they presented to the user.  Giving the user control over quicker scan times vs. immediate quality is so much more important in the classroom than one might first believe.  But, enhancing that ability by vastly improving scan speed is a real game changer for users.  Scan time appears to be stunningly fast with the THREE.  

Thankfully, the THREE retains my favorite part of the Matter and Form workflow... multi-step scan projects.   

With the low-cost handheld scanners we've used, the capture was an all or nothing proposition.  You get what you get.  Matter and Form projects, on the other hand, can always be amended and improved by adding scans.  

While it's easily missed, we see this, in action, in this video when Drew realizes that he did not capture enough overlap between two segments being captured and added a new scan covering the oversight.

Even if he had not realized this until MUCH later, he STILL could have saved the final scan by coming back and adding a new scan to the process!

While I won't get deep into the value of the feedback offered by the projection system as new scans are being considered, seeing it helps me in thinking about how I could use this feature in the classroom to engage ALL of the students in the capture process.  We'll come back to this topic as new examples are released.

POST-CAPTURE PROCESS

Being able to have a project where multiple scans are combined automatically to form a final product was one of the things I liked most about the original Matter and Form.  But, sometimes, being able to control the alignment manually is of real benefit.  I REALLY like the strategy we see in the above video where we see the use of color coding and large numeric targets being used to aid us in manually telling the software how we want individual scans aligned to complete the whole.

From a teacher's perspective, this presents the perfect platform for students to develop critical thinking skills as they have to compare parts presented in different spacial orientations looking for point pairs.  Deciding the order in which individual scans are added to the combined project also provides valuable insight and experience.

But, I am wondering if this isn't an area where providing a hybrid approach to the post-processing interface might not be very valuable for classrooms.

We are told that the THREE will be using an edge computing strategy where all of the actual work is being performed by the scanning hardware, itself, with a browser based user interface. If this remains true for every aspect of the workflow then it has some implications for the classroom.

It means that the post-processing must be done while the scanner is attached to the browser. As an individual, I have no problem with that.  And, I can certainly appreciate it as a teacher.

But, to me, a hybrid approach would offer something special.  Distributed engagement.  By that I mean homework.

If, in addition to the onboard software of the THREE, there was an app that could handle post-processing independently of the THREE, then each student could be tasked with using those scans to create a final result.  This presents an opportunity for ownership of each student over the entire capture process, even if they only observed the original scanning.  And, it would give the teacher a better gauge with which to evaluate a student's actual understanding of the process.

If that app also included something like Tinkercad's classroom strategy, where teachers can easily bring up the work of individual student's for review, it would be even more beneficial.  While this is probably not viable for the initial release of THREE, I think it is something that would make it even more appealing to educators.

But, for now, I am just grateful that Matter and Form has not only kept the workflow we have come to appreciate; but, appears to be improving and refining it to give us even more control over our scans.

.  

Matter & Form THREE - Second Example Scan (Shoe)

 Well before my interest in 3D, I was sometimes called upon by investors to help them determine the potential pros and cons of investing in a particular endeavor or product.  This process is called "Due Diligence" and the skill most needed is observation to details.  It is something I enjoyed doing and continue to apply those skills when examining new products entering the marketplace.

The goal isn't to find THE perfect product.  They do not exist.  The goal is to determine whether or not a product presents a good value for the investment to be put into it.  That includes taking into account the people behind the product.  Right now, my focus is on the Matter & Form THREE 3D scanner.  And, the team behind this product is one reason for my interest.  I have experience using not one; but, two Matter & Form scanners in multiple classroom situations.  Moreover, I have had excellent response to my questions regarding the best practices using those scanners.

The original Matter & Form scanner is not a perfect solution.  But, when compared to all of the scanners we owned at YouthQuest Foundation and Phillips Programs, including the Einscan, it was the easiest to use and provided the most educational value because of the scanning strategy utilized by Matter & Form.  The software not only encouraged experimentation; but, provided the feedback students need in order to continually improve their results.

Now we come to the place where this same company has announced a new product offering much higher resolution and much higher accuracy.   And, I have to believe that the solution and accuracy not only applied to the underlying mesh; but, with two 13mp Sony imaging chips, the material captures and wrapping as well.

But, for now, all we can do as pertains to performing our due diligence is to rely on the scan examples we have so far.  And, neither, so far, have included capturing the materials.  That's OK.  Because, it lets us focus on the underlying mesh with no distractions.  Here is a link to the original scan that Matter & Form uploaded to Sketchfab.

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/three-hilfiger-shoe-mesh-b5275a878dfa4181b9dac44e3e436f56

I downloaded the .STL version from Sketchfab so that I could evaluate the scan using MeshMolder, a wonderful inexpensive application.  

Matter and Form also posted an image of the original shoe on the Reddit 3D Scanning forums.  Without the original image we have no way to ascertain just how accurately the THREE 3D scanner replicated the shoe.   I cropped the image to better zoom in on the details.

Original Scanned Show

Having the image of the original immediately cleared up one of my reservations at first glance.  It was not a smooth leather shoe; but, a cloth shoe, which accounts for some of the texture along the sides.  But, even so, there appears to be more texture than actually existed.  Fortunately, when I pointed this out on the Reddit forums relative to some artifacts in the coin scans, I immediately got this reply.

CubifyFan
6 days ago

I did notice some noise in places that are smooth in the coin. I've always been a bit bothered by smooth surfaces not being scanned as smoothly as they are in real life. Accurate capture of NON-features should be just as important as capturing detailed features.

I suspect this is capture device noise, which we also face when using high ISO in digital cameras. Experienced photographers sometimes use layering or stacking of multiple images to reduce noise by pixel averaging across the layers. I'm wondering if we could be given a choice to use a similar 'layered multi-scan' technique to cancel noise in a 3D scan to smooth flat areas without compromising actual detail.

drewshark
6 days ago

Yes it's noise from the cameras, you're right. We've identified three major sources of noise in our scans. And your idea of multi layering is something we want to explore to compensate for one of the sources. Thanks for the great idea!

That shows me that they are already on the issue. So, for now, I'm not too concerned about it.

So, let's look at some specific areas of the shoe to see what we can gleam from this example.

THE SOLE

A good place to start in evaluating the accuracy of the scan is the are around the front of the sole.

Image of the Shoe Sole

Scanned Result - Shoe Sole

When we compare images, it's plain to see that the THREE was able to capture the texture of the sole better than any previous scanner we'd used.  There is some roughness around the area of the black stripe; but, look at the capture of the end of the shoe string!  And, the transition ridge around the top where the fabric meets the rubber sole!  Those are excellent results.  

SHOE LACES

Image - Shoe Laces

THREE Scan - Shoe Laces

The THREE made a valiant effort to capture the texture of the shoe laces. But, the movement of the laces during the scanning process conspired against it.  Here are the notes from the Sketchfab upload.

Captured with MAF THREE Using a Turntable twice. Once with the sole down on the turntable, 360 degree, 9 captures Once with the sole facing out, 180 degree, 5 captures. Aligned in software. Because our cleaning tools aren’t finished yet, this was slightly cleaned in meshlab. Soft things like shoes don’t hold their shape when rotating, so the laces moved and needed to be deleted.

That also accounts for the missing data under the shoe laces in one place.  While not absolutely perfect, I'm very impressed that multiple scans on flexible shoe laces was able to deliver this result.  I'm guessing these are shoes in actual use.  Had they been prop shoes, this issue might have been able to be fixed using Super Glue to ensure the laces could not move.  This isn't a scanner's problem.  This is a target's problem.

THE SEAM STITCHING

The one area in which I do see some issues would be with some of the seam stitching.

Image - Show Stitching

THREE Scan - Shoe Stitching

 

The stitching where the toe and sides are joined was captured perfectly.  But, the stitching right above that, along the side of the laces and around the opening are less well defined.  Even so, they CAN be seen when we click on the above image to bring it to full size.  I believe that the stitches, themselves, are black.  And, black is notoriously hard to capture.  I don't know if this is a clue as to how well the THREE handles Black or not.  But, it is something to note as we make our observations.  But, In this case, it seems to matter very little.  The stitching WAS able to be captured.  It just is not as pronounced as the original.

THE UNDER SOLE AND SCAN SEAMS.

I am going to go back to my original capture of my examination in Meshmolder for this one.

 I COULD NOT FIND ANY SCAN SEAMS!

Remember, what we are looking at is a mesh created by combining 14 different scans.  And, the result appears to be seamless.  The MIGHT be a hint of a seam where the underside of the sole and sides of the sole meet. But, I don't think so.

And, the sole, itself, is wonderfully captured!  The detail is very, very encouraging for those of us potential;y looking to upgrade our scanning capabilities from a company we admire and trust.

I hope looking over my shoulder as I do my own "Due Diligence" in trying to assess the Matter and Form THREE is as useful to you as the process has been for me.

Fun with Scans

By the way, one of the reasons I use Meshmolder to evaluate the mesh is that it is a sculpting application.  First, it allows me to examine and manipulate the mesh in a variety of ways.   And, secondly, I want to be sure that output from the THREE is suitable for mash-ups and sculpting manipulation.  Here is my vertex view in Meshmolder.

Download this image and zoom in to see the quality of the vertex mesh.

The developer f MeshMolder also has a very low cost product called Meshrender that is a LOT of fun.  I couldn't help myself.  I had to see how the THREE 3D Scanner scan looked in Meshrender as a light blue plastic shoe.  Here is the result:

Meshrender - Light Blue Plastic (THREE Scan)

The surprising thing is that the image is MIRRORED in Meshrender.  I don't know if it's something I did, reorienting the mesh, or a natural Meshrender behavior.  In any case, it does not matter.  I simply flipped the image to correct the orientation.

Meshrender Output Flipped

As we move forward, I hope to experiment with Meshmolder and Meshrender with future test scans.  Scanning offers us a LOT of potential.

ADDENDUM:

I found out what I did wrong when I brought the shoe scan into Meshrender the first time and re-oriented it.  Here is a new render that did NOT mirror the mesh.  Cinderella meets Star Wars with a glass tennis shoe in space.

Matter & Form Scanned Shoe - Meshrender

Obviously, I am easily amused! 

New Promising 3D Scanner Announced by Matter & Form

For almost as many years as this blog has existed, I have been interested in the promise of 3D scanning for a variety of reasons.  The first scanner that I owned was the 1st generation Cubify scanner from 3D Systems.  

We actually got a lot of use out of that scanner in our work with at-risk young people at YouthQuest Foundation in combination with our full-color Z450 powder printer.  In fact, we were able to scan dozens of cadets and produce 3D prints.  While not the highest resolution color scanner, it was something our cadets and their families really appreciated.

Over the years we added the 2nd generation Cubify 3D Scanner, the xyzPrinting 3D scanner,  the Einscan from Shining 3D and a few scanners based on the Intel Sense.  But, one of our favorites for scanning objects was the Matter and Form tabletop scanner.  It was, and remains, the easiest scanner for our students to use and we relied on it to teach the concepts of using 3D scanning for historical preservation and sharing of rare artifacts.  It's a great scanner for the classroom.

It was the Matter and Form scanner, along with our cooperative work with the students of iTech Preparatory school in Vancouver, Washington that convinced me that having students cooperate with local historical sites by scanning the site's artifacts would be a wonderful addition to a school's educational program.

 

 

Now, Matter and Form has introduced a new scanner that promises to be a breakthrough product toward making this a reality.

MATTER AND FORM THREE 3D SCANNER

The first thing to note about this new scanner is that it does NOT require a computer with a heavy duty GPU processor.  Note that it can be used with ANY computer or tablet.

THREE 3D Scanner using a Tablet

The reason for this remarkable capability is that the software is integrated into the THREE 3D scanner and interfaces with any computer via a browser using edge technology.  As far as I know, this is a first in the industry.  Moreover, Matter and Form indicates that an API will make controlling the scanning process available to end-users for those that wish to customize the capture process. 

The new scanner includes a 13 mp Sony sensor (or sensors?) and a white-light DLP with something they call ChromaSpec™ technology capturing geometry in full color.   They promise "metrology-level resolution."  The only scanners I know that have made that claim were well out of reach financially for most of us.  But, while Matter and Form does not yet specify a price, they do claim all this power will come as "and unmatched value" and based on the price-performance of their existing 3D scanner I expect that they are not exaggerating.  

Apparently, they will be introducing the new scanner through a Kickstarter campaign at a 50% one-time discount.

In the meantime, they will be releasing new announcements via email to those who sign up to keep informed.  You can sign up at MatterAndForm.com.

I know and trust this company from the many years they supported our work at YouthQuest.  And, I am VERY excited to learn more about this new product that offers so much promise.  As I learn more I will keep you posted.