If we've crossed paths in the past week, there's a pretty good chance I've scanned you. This extends well beyond the human race, into the realms of animal, vegetable, plush toy and fruit bowl. Some subjects were too small to be scanned, some too fidgety and, in the case of my attempted 3D selfie, not nearly flexible enough. Such issues were mere roadblocks in my strange one-man journey to 3D-scan the world. I may have a problem. I admit it. For starters, I'm not completely sure what I plan on doing with all these scans, but while such questions are entirely logical, they've yet to curb my enthusiasm for the device. Sense is one of those propositions that seems too good to be true: a user-friendly, (relatively) portable 3D scanner capable of capturing objects up to 10 feet by 10 feet, and at a fraction of the price of the competition.
If the product is indeed what 3D Systems claims, it could fill a major hole in the consumer 3D-printing market. In recent years, 3D-printing companies have largely focused on the printers themselves, which have gotten cheaper and easier to use. At the same time, the race to dominate the category has often caused companies to ignore the question of how those without extensive CAD experience can create 3D files in the first place. MakerBot unveiled its solution back at SXSW: the $1,400 Digitizer, a rotating, desktop scanning bed capable of capturing objects up to eight inches by eight inches. 3D Systems' Sense takes a wholly different approach: This is a $400 handheld scanner that can digitize an entire human being.
Hardware
On the front, you'll find transparent plastic protecting two cameras and an IR sensor, a setup that will immediately evoke references to Microsoft's Kinect. Just below that is a small 3D Systems logo, so your subject will know exactly who built the Sense when it's pointed at his or her face. On the bottom is a port for attaching the Sense to a tripod -- to, say, mount above a rotating platform, should you want to take a more professional approach to scanning your objects than a quick-and-dirty hand-held approach. With a weight of less than one pound, though, it's plenty easy to hold for the amount of time it takes to scan someone -- or multiple someones, for that matter. The build quality is also reasonably solid, though the pieces of the scanner's face pop off fairly easily, perhaps for repair purposes. If you don't fiddle with them too much, this shouldn't be a problem.
Software
Scanning
The amount of time you'll spend scanning something varies depending on the size and detail of the object, of course, but for the most part, the actual scanning process takes under a minute. If you've ever taken a panoramic photo on your smartphone, scanning will be old hat, with the software telling you whether you're too far or too close as you move around the subject. It's easy to see why 3D Systems demoed the device almost exclusively on people; the Sense really feels like a device built for human subjects. There's still a bit of a learning curve, and many of our initial attempts were choppy or incomplete, but I felt like an expert head scanner quickly enough. It's pretty easy to get the hang of larger objects too, though scanning anything you have to place on a surface will likely pick up part of the base in the image. But don't worry; you'll fix it in post.
Things didn't get much better once I actually started scanning. When the Sense loses its place, the software throws up a gray "Lost Tracking" screen. When that happens, it's your duty to line up the last scanned bit with what the camera is currently picking up. The process is a pain and, not surprisingly, the smaller the subject, the more irritating it is, as you've got to both line up the object and make sure the scanner is the same distance it was when you left off. More often than not, we found ourselves throwing in the towel out of frustration. MakerBot's Digitizer is definitely still the scanner of choice when it comes to capturing objects less than eight inches tall.
Seeing as how Sense doesn't know precisely what you're looking to scan, it also doesn't know when to stop scanning. Once you think you've got enough, hit the Next button (with a little of the aforementioned juggling, of course) and the software will start processing the data you've collected.
Post-production
The Edit page features options for erasing artifacts and solidifying. Better yet, you can actually rotate the shot here, which will give you a much better idea of how complete your image is. For a well-scanned image, this may well be the most rewarding moment aside from any actual printing. You can spin the image to your heart's content and fully appreciate what you've captured. If you've picked up any unwanted bits, tap the Erase button. The tool is pretty tricky to maneuver on a tablet touchscreen, so it will likely take you a while to get things just right if you picked up lots of excess information. Also, no matter how good a scan you got, odds are high you didn't get everything. In the case of a person's face, there are likely some bits under the chin or on top of the head that you just weren't able to capture.
The next page, Enhance, features a few more touch-up tools. Here, you can smooth out rough textures and once again trim unwanted bits. With the possible exception of Solidify, there's no magic bullet among these editing tools. Once you've got the scan, there's only so much you can actually do to the image. 3D Systems has done a good job making things simple here, but this is hardly a high-end 3D editing suite. If you're looking to do some heavy-duty corrections, the final page will let you save files as an STL or PLY and import them into a third-party program. If you'd like something equally user-friendly, Sculpt offers some interesting solutions for correction and mashups, so you can, say, put your face on Mount Rushmore if you see fit.
From there, you can also upload the file directly to the Cubify web offering, if you want 3D Systems to put you in a Star Trek uniform. The Print button, meanwhile, will import the file directly into the Cube print program. If you want to print the image on a third-party device, you can just use the exported file.
Wrap-up
There are a number of things we hope 3D Systems addresses next time out. Cutting the cord would be great. The software also has some hiccups and, in a few cases, the company has sacrificed functionality for the sake of keeping things user-friendly. And while the product costs $1,000 less than the competition, even $400 is a lot to ask for a product that you might not use very often. If you're a designer with a 3D printer lying around, it's a killer add-on. There's also some real potential here for 3D modelers and game developers on a budget. As for mainstream consumers, however, keeping a folder of 3D models is likely not enough to justify the cost of what will, for them, essentially be a toy.
Between its printers, software, web offering and Sense scanner, 3D Systems is building a robust ecosystem that puts the company in a strong position to be at the forefront of the home 3D-printing revolution. In a few years, it's easy to see something like the Sense being a much more mainstream product. In the meantime, the scanner is ready for the masses, but the masses are probably not quite ready for it. When they are, however, they've got some extremely cool technology waiting for them.
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