Matthew Shaw and William Trossell, the London-based duo known as ScanLAB Projects, continue to push the envelope of laser-scanning technology, producing visually stunning and conceptually intricate work that falls somewhere between art and practical surveying.
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Sketching, jotting, or doodling in a paper notebook is one of life’s simple joys, but more often than not we end up just tucking those notebooks away and never looking at them again. Mod Notebooks wants to change that, with a setup that digitizes your dead tree designs.
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Three-dimensional scanners are one of the newest and most futuristic gadgets in a police investigator’s toolkit. These magical, handheld little devices can create 3D models of a crime scene in mere minutes. And the technology just keeps getting better.
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Documenting a crime scene well is super important. Once it gets reopened to the public, there’s no going back. You can take all the pictures you want, and they might not cut it, but the Roswell Police have a new future-cop style trick: scanning the whole dang place.
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Artec, makers of high-end 3D scanners for industrial clients, have added a little whimsy to your day with Shapify.me, a service that can scan and print your body in full color, allowing you to make a little mini me of your very own.
The system uses the Kinect Sensor – it works with either the Kinect for Windows or Kinect for Xbox 360 – and allows you to scan your entire body using a PC or Mac. The software then lets you download the scan for 3D printing or order the print for $59. Prints are available in the US and Canada but more countries are coming soon.
Capturing the image is a little tricky – there are a lot of lighting issues and lots of turning – but the service seems to be outputting smooth, usable scans. Arguably these aren’t as beautiful as some other services we’ve seen including the incredible Twinkind but because you’re depending on a fairly low resolution system like the Kinect and limited processing power it’s easy to forgive some of the elisions in the model.
I’ve learned that 3D scanning is hard and anything that makes it easier is a good thing. While it might be a little late to give a Shapify figurine to your dear old mother and father, it’s definitely a fun little toy and could be an interesting tool for home hobbyists. Besides, who doesn’t want a 3D selfie?
It looks like the days of shampoo bottles striking fear into the hearts of airport security everywhere might be numbered. Thanks to Los Alamos scientists, a new type of detection technology could give airports the tools they need to finally tell if a liquid is a potential threat—all with one simple scan.
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You can run into some weird dudes on the subway, but for the most part it’s a pretty normal experience. That is, unless you record it with a digital scanner; then it turns into a glitched-out digital funhouse. On acid.
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There’s a lot of lore about what we see in mirrors, or what happens if we go through the looking glass. And this vaguely sinister app offers some control of the situation. Unsigned Mirror is an openFrameworks Windows and Mac app written by the art and technology group Unsigned Long Long. It creates slit-scan craziness when you drag an image into the program and feed it through the "mirror". You can also use your webcam for source images. While putting an image through the mirror, you can rotate the scene in 3d and then save as a new image file. Sort of makes you want to bring the word "groovy" back, doesn’t it? I said sort of. [Creative Applications]
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Which do you think is more achievable – living in a wireless world, or to live in a paperless environment? I personally think that it will be more or less impossible to have both achieve their respective objectives, but the former – a true, blue wireless environment, might be a whole lot more possible. After all, Wi-Fi networks in homes as well as public spaces have become more and more abundant these days, not to mention the introduction of various technologies in recent years like Bluetooth and NFC that help to facilitate even more wireless connectivity between devices. Fujitsu intends to perform a wireless-paperless meld with the introduction of a wireless scanning function for the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 desktop scanner.
This new software update will ensure that customers will be able to wirelessly scan documents to a PC or Mac, helping expand the capabilities of its built-in Wi-Fi connectivity even further. As at press time, ScanSnap iX500 customers do already happen to be able to scan straight to their Android and iOS compatible devices, and now the next step is taken – one has the proverbial freedom to “cut the cord” from their computer without having to lose any of the ScanSnap iX500’s advanced scanning functionality, which would definitely make scanning at home or at the office a whole lot more convenient.
Thanks to the introduction of wireless connectivity, one is able to place the ScanSnap iX500 away from their computer, although I am not sure why one would put it in the kitchen. As long as it is in range, you will be able to scan as though it was connected via USB. This would pave the way for you to create PDF files at speeds of up to 25 double-sided color pages per minute (300dpi, color) and scan like you normally would, except that you do not remain tethered this time around.
Scanner Product Page
[ Fujitsu introduces wireless scanning function for ScanSnap iX500 desktop scanner copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
3D printing is more popular and accessible than ever, and printers are on course to get even cheaper soon. But printing is only one side of the equation; what about taking 3D pictures? There’s a convenient, handheld gadget in the works that could do just that, and way cheaper than anything else has before.
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