3D scanning technology developer Fuel3D is officially bringing their successfully crowdfunded 3D scanner, the Scanify to market at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Scanify has already been shipped out to the original Kickstarter campaign backers. Now, it is available for preorder on the Fuel3D online store and will be available in retail outlets in a few months.
The handheld, point-and-shoot 3D scanner is capable of quickly capturing extremely high-resolution, full color 3D scans in under a second. This makes Scanify one of the fastest consumer 3D scanners available on the market, and, at only $1,490, it is certainly less expensive than products with comparable capabilities. Scanify can produce 3D scans with high enough resolution to be used in animation and 3D art. It also has the ability to convert them into highly detailed 3D printable objects. Here is a short clip of the level of detail the scanner is capable of:
“When we set out to create SCANIFY, our goal was to democratize the 3D movement for consumers and, in particular, to allow for the personalization of their creations,” said Fuel3D CEO Stuart Mead (featured in the scan below). “SCANIFY allows consumers to transform highly-complex subjects – such as the human face – into high-detail, full-color 3D scans as quickly as they could take a photo using a digital camera.”
Scanify captures such high-resolution images by combining pre-calibrated stereo cameras with photometric imaging capable of grabbing an image in a tenth of a second. As a result, the scanner can capture a subject faster than it might move, almost as if a standard 2D digital image were being snapped. Movement during scanning is one of the many reasons that the current crop of consumer 3D scanners can take so long to accurately capture data.
Fuel3D not only raised investment with its wildly successful Scanify Kickstarter campaign, but the tech startup went on to successfully secure millions in private funding to make it available to mainstream consumers. They have also signed several retail and distribution deals with companies worldwide to help facilitate the product launch.
US customers can currently preorder the Scanify 3D Scanner online, with unit fulfillment expected in early 2015. Fuel3D anticipates the Scanify to be available in retail outlets and locations a few months after that.
