This 3D scanning software took me a long time to find out....
I just bumped into this Autocad 123D Catch app which impressed the hell out of me.
The object you see is a project I made a few years back using Polymorph plactic (thats how you made 3D plastic stuff then)
The Scan process is simple >>> take as many photos from as many different angles (order can be very random) the pictures are then uploaded to the Autodesk server and processed.... sending back an OBJ (+mtl file) file for use in Blender (or even Autodesk).
This is just the "Raw" low resolution model sitting in blender , there are some artifacts which can be easily stitched. You can also select Medium or Hires downloads of your model.
Low res :-
quite a few artifacts and the mouth is filled in!!
Highest res :-
Practically no artifacts and mouth recess perfect ...Win!!
Sooo... how can we apply this to practical things & Robotic buiding :-
One of the biggest tasks creating robot object parts is to get the basic outlines model, which can be quickly scanned from existing objects. ie say you want to make a foot brace ( after spained ankle ) , simply take 20-70 pictures of your foot at all angles and hey presto 1-3 hours later a Plastic cast comes off the 3D Production line..
Really interesting App
I think this is a really interesting App. I wanted to give my robot a different head from the classic inmoov. Do you think with this it will be possible to model a prototyle with sort of modelling mass and scanning it? It would be a really nice option for someone without high 3D modelling skills.
Compared to a 3D-Scanner this could save a lot of money.
Yes pre sculping
Indeed I guess it would work well with clay or painted polystyrene forms. I have even used cardboard on times (in fact that is how I originally modeled the SchneeBeast)
They do advise not to use transparent or shiny surfaced objects.
It would easy to get someone to scan your head and try that as a basis ..... then you could have hour of fun talking to yourself (wait a momo I do that anyways).....