iPad + Structure Sensor = 3D Scanner

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."  - Arthur C. Clarke
People born in the 80's experience a unique pleasure. What,to them was science fiction,is now rapidly becoming science.Like the lightsaber,true virtual reality gaming.

And the 3D scanner. A 3D scanner scans objects. In 3D. That's about it. Why one?

Depicting objects in true 3d is a major pain.  Players of  Minecraft would know how difficult it is to build even the most simplest of objects.

Constructing perfect face-masks is one of the key plot devices Mission Impossible Relies on. Whether or not this is actually possible, was explored by the MythBusters, who visited a special effects shop and had the masks made by professionals.
The masks failed. Miserably

World of Warcraft fans have been clamouring to play tournaments at real life locations.

While these 3 problems seem unique to themselves, their solutions can be offered by a single gadget.
Enter the 

Structure Sensor 

Brainchild of Occipital©,who saw the untapped potential in PrimeSense,the software behind the kinect.
How it works: all you do is keep it focused on the object you need scanned,while completing a full circle around the object. Simple as that.

optimum range

Other 3d scanners exist,but this one's different because it's compact,actually attaches to a mobile device and it's cheap. Other 3d scanners begin from the neighbourhood of $1400,but by backing the kickstarter,you get one for $329.This is how it looks mounted on an iPad

While masks made by professionals take lots of time,effort and moolah to make,and still end up looking crappy.Now, with a 3D printer and the structure sensor,a scan takes <60 seconds,and you print it!This will produce an almost perfect replica,down to the tiniest wrinkle.


The 3D printer seemed straight out of sci-fi. But to use it, a 3d object had to be drawn,by hand,using a 2d interface,making it a painstaking and very long process.This breakthrough simplifies the process,easing the way for indie developers.

While these applications are explored thoroughly by the video,I feel one has just been glossed over,left for our imagination.I feel that gaming is one area which will advance staggeringly.

RPG's or role playing games, still leave a sense of emptiness,primarily because the character we're playing is not me!Multiplayer games would feel a lot better if instead of some computer rendered graphic,you could actually see your friends brains splattering out in slow-mo!

‘There are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.’ While FPS games try very hard to bring their experience to life, there is always a wistful feeling : I wish i could play this,not in a fictional location,but near my home/school/some real location. The video assures me that both these voids will be filled,and quite soon,too.

Here's the icing on the cake : It's completely open source. That's right,hack away! Though designed to be used on the iPad/iPhone, connecting to an android device is possible using a lightning cable. All Apps shown in the video are only in the iOS platform,but since it's made open source in all of Occipital's openhandedness, one can only hope intrepid developers make it accessible to android too.

31 days to go,and counting.