Take Quality 3D Scans with Your iPhone Using the New Qlone App

3D scanning is still intimidating to many people, and that’s understandable. No matter how simple the scanner is to use, there’s a lot that goes into creating a 3D model from a scan. Mesh, point clouds, merging – there are a lot of unfamiliar terms when you first start learning about 3D scanning, and going from scan to usable file can be a complicated process. Then there are scanner settings, and figuring out which kind of scanner is best for what kind of application, and plenty of other factors to take into consideration before even buying a scanner (although we can help you out with that part of the process).

Overall, though, 3D scanners are getting more accessible in terms of both cost and ease of use. Even the software, which flummoxes many people, is becoming simpler and more intuitive. It’s been speculated that people will eventually just be using their smartphones as 3D scanners, and that day is getting closer thanks to apps like Qlone, which turns the camera on your iPhone or iPad into an easy-to-use scanner.

All the user has to do is print out a sheet of paper with a large QR code on it, place the object to be scanned in the middle of the sheet, and move his or her camera around it. The app’s “augmented reality dome” will surround the object and capture a detailed 3D scan of it. Users can also easily merge two different poses of the same object for a better scan. It’s easy to modify and clean up the object once the scan has been captured, thanks to a set of simple modifiers including Texture, Art, Sculpt, Clean and Resize.

Qlone was created by EyeCue Vision Technologies, an Israeli technology company that has been developing vision recognition based solutions for games and toys for the last 10 years.

“With Qlone, our aim is to truly democratize 3D content creation, by removing significant barriers for everyone – No longer will you need to purchase an expensive 3D scanner, no longer mesh cleaning and optimizing will require exporting/importing to multiple expansive pieces of software, no longer will you need to export to your computer and only then upload to Shapeways or Sketchfab or CGTrader…all of these tasks can now be done directly from a single app on your iPhone…whether it’s for 3D printing, AR/VR content creation, sharing and selling…the possibilities with Qlone are truly endless,” Ronen Horovitz, CEO of EyeCue Vision Technologies, told 3DPrint.com.

Qlone scans can be easily exported in a range of file formats including STL, OBJ, PLY, and X3D, or shared through social channels like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or email and text message. As Horovitz pointed out, the app is also integrated with several 3D printing and file sharing platforms, including Shapeways, CGTrader, and Sketchfab. Additional platforms will be integrated in the future.

Qlone was recently improved with a new high resolution mode, offering 50% higher resolution scans than before. The app can be downloaded from iTunes, and according to the company, a version for Android devices will be developed later. The app is free to download and use, but in order to export scans, credits need to be purchased from within the app.

If you’re curious about scan quality, you can check out some 3D scans taken by people using the Qlone app here and here. Discuss in the Qlone forum at 3DPB.com.