Taiwan’s ITRI Rolls Out Handheld and Wireless Mobile 3D Scanner

The Industrial Technology Research Institute, or ITRI, is the major government-funded institute for Taiwanese technology, and the group just debuted a state-of-the-art, handheld 3D scanner and wireless mobile 3D scanner, mScan, at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2015.

ITRI is a nonprofit R&D organization which undertakes applied research and technical services, and it was founded in 1973. Since that time, ITRI has overseen the development of more than 260 companies, among them global semiconductor companies such as TSMC and UMC. The group boasts strategic collaborative partners such as Corning Glass, Underwriters Laboratories, Applied Materials, Asahi Kasei, Nidec, Fraunhofer, VTT of Finland and Ericsson among their contacts.

ITRI also operated offices in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, and Eindhoven.

According to Jenny Lin, the Manager at the Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories within ITRI, this handheld 3D scanner uses depth camera technology to compare a captured image from an IR camera and then introduces a specific pattern of random speckles onto the target object.

“This is a light-weight handheld device – only 1kg in weight,” Lin says. “The scanning frame rate is 10 fps, and accuracy of 3D modeling can be reached to 0.1mm through the real time registration and fusion of 3D image processing.”

The scanner is also capable of acquiring 3D camera data of the target object based on a single-shot by superimposing the 3D data with a “volumetric registration method” to reconstruct the object and create a precision, 3D color model.  The mScan is a wireless mobile 3D scanner designed to piggyback on the functionality of smartphones and devices.

“It integrates infrared depth and color image sensing into a single compact module,” Lin said. “Once the user installs the app to their Android device or Windows computer, 3D scanning can be activated through wireless communication.”

Lin says a user can view the creation of a full color 3D model instantly as the scanning process is underway, and that allows users to easily adjust the scanning angle and position of the device quickly to produce optimum images.

The mScan also functions with Android smart devices, Windows computers, RGB+IR single sensor camera designs and includes a wireless connection function. According to ITRI, the scanner is ideal for personal 3D modeling and printing, AR gaming development, 3D previewing, medical and healthcare applications, 3D image inspection and review,  heritage preservation and digital archiving.

Have you ever had business dealings with ITRI or used any of the products they’ve nurtured over the years? What do you think of these latest 3D scanners? Let us know in the ITRI Mobile Scanner forum thread on 3DPB.com.