Any futurist would tell you that one day, not too far in the future, nearly everything will be digitally scanned, and then shared online in three dimensions. This will have major implications, both within the 3D printing realm, as well as other areas such as virtual reality, digital record keeping, and more.
In order to get to this point, however, innovation and drive is key; two things that the Taiwan-based company, Etron Technology feels they have going for them. This week, the company, led by Dr. Lu, Samuel, Dr. Wu, and Dr. Lin announced their new 360-degree ‘ThingCapture’ technology.
“Not only does this breakthrough give Etron exciting new products and milestones, it also provides users a great way to ensure experiences and memories stay with them forever,” stated Dr. Lu. “I hope that global technology experts will rapidly do R&D in this area to develop it further. Just as the ‘Pod’ allows users to create their own handheld music library and the ’Pad’ allows users to capture and share images and videos, our ‘ThingCapture™‘ technology allows users to digitize objects in 3D and then, through 3D printing, to re-create those objects and embrace those associated memories.”
ThingCapture, utilizes the company’s OK360 platform and advanced 3D depth-map integrated circuits to allow anyone to affordably 3D scan an object. This object can then be stored on file and 3D printed, allowing one to forever save an event, object or memory in a 360-degree digital format.
“This is a new killer application to be added to the four major technology trends, ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Scan & Print’, ‘Wearables’, and ‘Big Data’,” stated Dr. Lu. “Now you have an affordable way to capture physical items in 3D and to digitize, save, re-create and share them with your friends and family!”
Etron Technology, founded back in 1991, is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. The company is known for their specialty buffer memory and has recently begun focusing on 3D imaging technology. It will be interesting to see how their ThingCapture technology continues to develop over the coming year as 3D scanning begins to take off even further.
For those wishing to check out the ThingCapture experience first hand, Etron Technology will be present at Booth #35116, next week at the 2015 International CES. Let’s hear your thoughts on the 3D scanning market in general, as well as Etron’s latest announcement in the ThingCapture forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below showing this technology in action:
