To be honest, when I wrote about the Sense handheld scanner from 3D Systems last year, I was a little disappointed that it could only be used with PCs. Though the 3D scanner was only $399 (substantially more affordable than the Fuel3D scanner and MakerBot Digitizer), I probably wouldn’t have had any use for one, as I am but a Mac user. My wife, Danielle, insisted that 3D Systems would adapt the Sense to the Mac OS, soon; 3D Systems would just be silly to do otherwise! Fortunately, Danielle was right, as 3DS has announced new updates to their handheld scanner that, not only make it Mac-compatible, but make it more capable, overall.
The scanner’s new Geomagic software upgrade, V1.1, gives the device better tracking and stability, as well as a feature for auto-correcting scans to compensate for brightness and color in a single click. Now that it can be used with Apple computers, as well, the Sense should offer an even more intuitive scanning process (I happen to think Macs are more intuitive than PCs). The device and its software also have some features that I was previously unaware of, such as compatibility with Microsoft Surface Pro 2 tablets and a simple solidification process to prepare scans for 3D printing. It should also be noted that the Sense has an automatic object recognition feature, which separates scan targets from noisy background data, and the ability to merge multiple captures in order to create large 3D scans.
Ever wanted to see the Sense do its thing in slow-motion? Watch below!
The Sense seems to be a perfect companion for the (comparatively) affordable CubeJet full-color 3D printer to be released this year. Moreover, in addition to 3D Systems’ iSense 3D scanner for the iPad, the Geomagic Capture industrial scanner, and the 3DMe Scanning Booth, the Sense expands 3D Systems attempts at becoming an all-purpose provider of 3D scanning technology. If my Aquarian powers are accurate, I’ll bet that a pair of 3D scanning, augmented reality glasses will be the next, big 3D scanning release we see from the company.
Source: 3D Systems
